Savage Worship
by The Angry Lioness
Summary: Ariadne returns to school and starts dating a student named Jean. Soon, he begins to abuse her and she becomes too scared to tell anyone. When she gives love another try, all she wants is freedom.
1. The Vineyard

She saw Cobb leave and figured it was best to head off as well. Ariadne didn't know what the other guys were going to do, but she couldn't ask them since she had to keep her distance. After she claimed her only bag, she took one last glance at Arthur who was waiting for his suitcase to hover by. Eames was near but didn't look at her and she couldn't find Yusuf. She figured she should just leave.

Being back in LA, she decided to go home. Not as in her crammed Paris apartment, but home as in her grandparent's house. She hadn't seen her them in months, or her sisters for that matter. They would be thunderstruck to see her there, but she knew they would greet her with open arms offering her new wine samples and cheese.

Originally, she lived in a small Ontario town called Perry Sound. Because of family issues, she had to be moved. She finished her senior year at Parry Sound High School and then moved to Los Angeles with Mirra and Jenaya. Ariadne would do anything to go back to Parry Sound for a day.

Lorenzo and Belle Soprano were wine makers. They harvested fruits all day on their enormous vineyard. Originally, they came from wine loving countries. Their love for wine was indescribable and they wanted to teach their granddaughters about it as well. Belle made the wine most of the time and Lorenzo brought his stand to the market and sold the bottles. They made good money; Just enough to raise three granddaughters.

Then Mirra and Jenaya came in mind. They were Ariadnes younger sisters who were identical twins. Unlike her, they were blue eyed like their father but their hair had the same brunette tone. By now, they would be twenty one. Mirra was studying fashion at the Art Institute and Jenaya was in beauty school. Despite being identical, the girls were very different personality wise. Mirra was a lot harder to please than Jenaya. Jenaya smoked but Mirra never tried a cigarette. Jenaya liked boys, but on the other hand, Mirra hated them unless they were gay. Mirra was usually grumpy while Jenaya sister was cheerful.

It was a long, slow taxi ride through the city. Ariadne found herself looking through the window, tapping her nails by the lock. She hadn't been there for months, but she remembered exactly where everything was. The places she and her sisters would go, the movies and even their favorite places to eat. Her eyes were always on buildings but the buildings of LA could never match up to the works of art in Paris. The driver escaped the traffic and brought her to an Italian themed neighborhood. In the far back was the vineyard.

Nothing was different. The house was still surrounded by flowers in the front and covered in vines. An aroma of fresh grapes filled her nose with the "Welcome Home" message. Adiadne stepped forth almost too nervous to knock on the door. She was originally not planning to come here when she left Paris for the Inception so she left her house key in her apartment.

_What am I waiting for? They're my grandparents for God's sake! _After taking a deep breath, she opened the gate and approached the door. Enjoying the sounds of the birds behind her, she jumped when she heard a dog beyond the door barking. Nobody mentioned a dog in their e-mails.

Belle's voice was approaching telling the dog in Italian to stop yapping. A smile crept on Ariadne's face as she heard the lock click open. The elder who came into view had skin crinkled like a raisin and painted nails the color of strawberries. The dog was a Dalmatian who Ariadne had never seen before.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed as she opened her arms. "You didn't tell me you were coming to visit!"

"Surprise." Said Ariadne nervously.

"Well what are you waiting for? Come in, come in. Lorenzo!" Belle shouted for her husband. "Lorenzo!"

"Che c'e?" _What is it?_ Lorenzo yelled back.

"Arianna è casa!" _Ariadne is home!_

Ariadnes grandfather came out of the kitchen still in his apron that looked like the Italian flag. He looked the same way he did last time she saw him; shorter than his wife, slightly curved, and still had the thick white moustache. Lorenzo dropped his towel as his granddaughter went to hug him.

"What brings you here so soon?" he asked after kissing her forehead.

"Professor Miles said I could fly back early." She lied.

"Well don't just stand there." Said Belle. "Put your bag down and come into the vineyard. We'll have cheese and wine and talk about your adventures."

When she went outside to the back, she saw there were more than just grapes. Gammy brought out a bottle of wine that she made and poured her granddaughter a glass. The three sat down on the patio table under a white umbrella. Domino, the Dalmatian sat underneath in the shady area.

"So, anything interesting happen?" Belle asked. "Well of course I know interesting things happened in Paris, they always do, but tell me what they are."

Since she couldn't mention the Inception job, she just smiled and said, "Well, sometimes I had class in Notre Dame."

"Beautiful church." Said Lorenzo. "Any men in your life?"

Ariadne laughed, shaking her head. Every time a church was mentioned, the elders would think of a wedding and to have a wedding, the bride needed a groom. "No. You know I don't date."

"You don't like any men in your class?" Belle asked.

"No. Their only friends."

"Speaking of friends…" said Lorenzo. "How is Jules?" Jules Girard was Ariadne's best friend since preschool. They played together all the time as kids and studied together as teens. She even followed Ariadne to Paris to be trained in culinary art.

Ariadne sighed.

"I haven't spoke to her in a long time…" she said. "You see, there was an accident and she had to be rushed to the hospital."

"What happened?" Lorenzo asked going into alert-mode.

"She was stabbed in the eye."

Belle seemed horrified by this as she covered her mouth and rose her eyelids.

"It was an accident. She was working at the kitchen juggling knives like she learned and she missed one."

"Too bad it didn't land on the floor." Said Lorenzo.

"But the good news is she's going to be fine. I haven't seen her since her release but I'm sure she's gonna be missing an eye."

Lorenzo shook his head. "The nerve of people these days. Back in my day, women never tried pulling stunts."

"Times have changed." Said Ariadne. "And she was trained for years too, which is why I'm surprised by this."

"That poor dear." Said Belle. "When you fly back, I'm packing some wine for you to give to her."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that." Said Ariadne with a light smile. "So where are my sisters?"

"Jenaya and Mirra are both at work right now."

"Mirra got a job?" Ariadne sounded more surprised than when she found out about Jules. "A job she can keep?"

"Well it is a fashion related job." Said Lorenzo. "And she enjoys going to work."

"That's a shock."

"Of course you know why she quit working at McDonalds." Said Lorenzo spreading come cheese onto a cracker.

"I don't."

"She got into a fight."

"I'm not so surprised."

"She got into a fight on the job and quit before the boss fired her." Said Belle. "The nerve of that sister of yours. She digs into peoples thoughts without their permission and when a negative thought about her is picked up she attacks."

"So I heard that she and Jenaya are doing roller derby now." Said Ariadne. "That anger helps in a sport like that."

"Oh yes, they made the state team. " said Lorenzo.

"What's the mascot?"

"Their the California Sailors." Said Belle.

"Now Mirra doesn't use her gift to cheat I hope." Ariadne sipped her wine again.

"I don't see how." Said Lorenzo. "But if you do to one of those games, dress down as much as possible."

A red BMW left the city and entered the neighborhood. The two women in the car were Ariadne's sisters Mirra and Jenaya, talking about their days at work. Mirra was always the driver because Jenaya always had a craving for a cigarette. Despite being identical, they were easy to tell apart; Mirra's hair was long and her skin was deathly pale. Jenaya had short choppy hair dyed strawberry blonde and sun kissed skin.

Mirra's phone went off. "Answer that." She ordered her sister. She never talked on the phone while driving.

"Text from Gam Gam." She said.

"Saying…"

Jenaya almost screamed. "Ariadne's home!"

"What!" Mirra exclaimed. "No she's not."

"That's what the text says."

Mirra smiled. Not the 'happy' smile but the 'I know something' smile. She started to chuckle.

"What did you see this time?" Jenaya asked.

"Not the usual desire for sex or money." Said Mirra. "I was having lunch at Olive Garden today and some really hot guy walked in with a ditsy blonde and sat at the table next to mine."

"Rate him."

"He was a solid ten." Said Mirra. "He's what every woman wants; he had a suit, shiny shoes and nice hair. Hotter than the waiters."

"You know it's rude to read people's minds."

The telepath sighed. "I know but when a hot guy appears, you just have to know what he's thinking about." Only her family knew about this ability. This was how Mirra got close to other people. However, it didn't come without its price.

"What was he thinking about?"

"Get ready for this; I saw a memory."

"Yeah."

"He wasn't even thinking about the blonde. He told a girl to kiss him, and it turns out that girl was our dear sister. And he told her it 'was worth a shot'." Jenaya laughed. "It gets better; I see another memory of them… walking into a hotel room." Right now, Jenaya had her hand on her mouth muffling back giggles.

"Ari got it on?"

"Well I didn't see any poke-and-run after that. But she was dressed as a secretary and he looked like a boss. So I'm thinking they did. But after being in his head for too long I got a pounding headache and for some odd reason, I was pulled out before I intended to leave."

"Oh my God…" Jenaya was on the brink of tears. "Are you going to read her mind to see if it's true?"

"Once my head stops killing me."


	2. A Price For Power

"What's the dillio Homeskillet?"

Ariadne was outside by the pool in a blue bikini and taking a sun nap when she heard a familiar voice. She sat up and turned around to see Mirra and Jenaya advance toward her. Because the girls changed in appearance while Ariadne was at school, she almost got them confused.

"Gam Gam told us you were home." Said Mirra. "How's Paris?" she was holding an aspirin in one hand, cell phone in the other.

"It's fantastic." Said Ariadne, who stood up and hugged Mirra.

"We are so jealous." Said Jenaya.

"I'm actually thinking about studying abroad there soon." Said Mirra.

"Really? Well Paris is a great fashion city. So what have you been working on?"

"To be honest, for weeks, I've been working on men's suits. They're so hard…" Mirra slumped on the chair next to Ariadnes. "I thought they were just pants, jackets and vests. That not the case."

"I've been cutting hair and waxing eyebrows all day. I had a client come in today with a British accent and he constantly tried to hit on me. He kept calling me 'Darling'." Said Jenaya. "So don't complain. You don't even know what work is…"

"I have a job, don't I?" Mirra asked. Ariadne giggled.

"So what are your derby names?" Ariadne asked. Mirra smirked and Jenaya giggled.

"Mines Lady the Tramp." Said Mirra.

"I'm Tinkerbitch." Jenaya replied. As children, Mirra would always call Tinkerbell Tinkerbitch because the fairy would try to mess up Peter's relationship with Wendy.

"So any interesting new relationships?" Mirra glared at Jenaya as if to warn her. Jenaya wasn't the best at keeping secrets sometimes when they were too juicy to handle.

"Like new friends?"

"She means boyfriend."

"What?" Ariadne chuckled and sat back down, putting her sunglasses over her eyes. "No. Why?"

"Just wondering…" said Mirra innocently. "Besides, being French Italian, Gam Gam and Baba will want you to get married before they die."

"Alright." Ariadne sat up again. "Why did you ask?"

"Because she saw this guy thinking about you." Jenaya spilled.

"Way to go Jenaya." Mirra snapped.

"Wait, wait, wait… what did this guy look like?"

"He was wearing a suit and had nice hair." Said Mirra. "You know him?"

Ariadne froze. She couldn't tell Mirra about the Inception job but she was afraid she would figure it out anyway.

"He's… he was an assistant of Miles. He often taught the class."

"So… he's a professor, and you kissed him?"

"Is that what you saw?" Ariadne asked.

"I saw you too walk into a hotel room alone. Were you two playing the boss and secretary game in there?" Mirra asked with a grin. Ariadne gulped quietly.

"No!" Ariadne stormed. "Just drop it already, and don't even think about getting into my head!"

"All you ever think about are buildings." Said Mirra. "It's pretty boring to be honest. So why would I try?" Ariadne rolled her eyes. "Besides, my head is hurting like a bitch."

"So…" Jenaya was ready to break the cold ice. "Did Gam Gam and Baba tell you?"

"That your on the state derby team?" said Ariadne grumpily. "Yeah, they told me."

"What's bothering you?" Mirra asked suddenly crabby.

"Nothing."

"Don't make me go in there."

"You shouldn't be reading peoples minds when you have a headache." Said Jenaya.

"You have no right to enter my mind anyway!" Ariadne snapped. "Do you seriously dig into random peoples minds to learn what makes them vulnerable? No wonder you got a lot of promotions, because you knew what your boss wanted!"

"Take it easy." Mirra sneered. "I don't spread gossip like this one." She pointed to Jenaya.

"I can't believe you sometimes! I bet you use it to win at derby, am I correct?"

"The only way you could cheat in derby is if you dumped water on the floor and screwed with the other teams skates."

"She doesn't use it at games." Said Jenaya.

"Does anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?" Mirra asked. "Don't make my headache worse."

"I need to leave." Ariadne walked off and went back inside to arrange a flight to Paris.

"What's wrong with her?" Jenaya asked. "Mirra? What was she thinking?"

"I didn't check." Mirra told her. "But I'd like to know what's shoved up her ass."

Jenaya sighed and went inside the house. Ariadne went into her old bedroom to see that everything she left behind was still there. Posters of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Leaning Tower were hanging as if they weren't touched.

She sighed and figured she'd have to sleep in one of her sisters rooms. But the idea of leaving home after fighting her sister made her feel bad. Maybe if she talked to Jules, she'd feel a little better.

Ariadne opened her laptop and logged on to Skype, praying that Jules was available for a chat. Fortunately, she was and a request box immediately popped up. On the screen, a girl with radiant red hair and an eye patch waved.

"Where the hell are you?" she asked.

"I had to fly home to tend to a family emergency." Ariadne lied. "But I'm coming home tomorrow. How's your eye?"

"It still hurts." Jules complained. "I'm never doing that again."

"I know now for sure, since my best friend looks like a pirate."

Jules laughed sarcastically. "That's funny. Actually, I'm only having the patch on until they make me a glass eye." The ginger was silent as she nudged her head to the side. "What is that?"

"What's what?"

"That dress over there… your sister made that?"

Ariadne turned around to see a strapless dress displayed in the room. It was navy blue and the entire skirt was covered with peacock feathers.

"I think she did."

"It's fucking awesome. I want one."

"I don't think Mirra's going to willingly give away her best work for free. I don't even know why it's here."

"Well could you ask her?" Jules pouted.

"Actually, I don't think she will. We just had a fight."

"Aww, what happened sweetie?"

"She thought I lost my virginity." Ariadne shook her head. Jules laughed. "Did you finally lose yours?"

"Not yet. But I plan on it."

"I have the brains in the family. My sisters are the divas. We all know that. And now their playing roller derby."

"Shut up." Jules muttered. "That should make their businesses fly through the roof."

"It will. And then everyone's going to ask me if I'm related to them and I don't want to be asked that question. So I'm thinking about getting a fake ID."

"That's really risky."

"I know it is." Said Ariadne. "But I don't want any part of the limelight."

"I see how it is. Well you just tell me what I have to call you from now on."

"Chicas!" Belle called. "Dinner's up. Hurry up now!"

"I'll talk to you as soon as I can." Ariadne promised. "I hope the pain goes away."

"Thanks."

When Ariadne went downstairs, Mirra was the first to apologize. It was as if Mirra heard the conversation.

"I had no right putting my nose in your life." She said.

"No, Mirra. I'm sorry. I was being cranky. I know you can't help it."

"But can I just ask you something?" Mirra asked.

"About…"

"Don't act like you don't know."

Ariadne shook her head. "I thought we made it clear that we would never discuss this again."

"Why are you afraid of it?" Mirra shook her head. "We both have gifts and I learned how to cherish mine. You can't hold it in forever."

"I can try." Ariadne growled. "And you abuse your gift."

"Why are you so afraid?" Mirra continued. "It's like having a sixth sense."

"There's nothing remarkable about seeing illusions of people who really aren't there! No one appeared in front of me for months anyway and I don't want them to! People don't know how it feels." Ariadne explained. "They don't know how scary it is. I wish I didn't have such a curse."

"You can hide it, but it will never go away. Every time you hit 'snooze' on an alarm clock, it beeps back moments later only louder. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Your saying I should try to talk to my illusions?"

"Maybe they'll leave you alone after that. If I ignored my telepathy, I could possibly be dead. People think that it would be totally kick-ass to be a mind reader. But they don't know there's pain in the package."

"It's just frightening that's all… It's like seeing a ghost."

"So is there anything I can do to make up the bitching?" Mirra asked sincerely.

"Actually, there is one thing…"


	3. Scarf Boy

Ariadne was proud of herself as she stepped aboard the first class Air Euro jet. The seats were widely apart from each other to stretch out and form into beds. In front of each seat were a TV and a menu. She took her seat immediately by a window and relaxed against the cushions. Flying third class for hours would be too frustrating. This was the best idea you've ever come up with, she told herself.

Her peace and quiet was interrupted by two pre-teens arguing over Team Edward and Team Jacob. Ariadne rolled her eyes and looked onto LA through the window. She hoped her sisters took all the pictures of her in the house away, so no one would know they had a sister. As soon as that show came out, she realized she would have to get a fake ID.

Her trail of thoughts cut to an edge when the seat next to hers was filled. It was probably a rich woman in Prada or a businessman.

"Hi." The voice didn't sound American but it was masculine and deep. Ariadne turned around to face a man around her age. He had messy espresso colored hair that matched his coffee bean eyes. The blue and white-checkered scarf around his neck indicated that they would get along nicely.

"Hey." A small smile crept on her lips. But then she thought he had the wrong seat.

"I think I've seen you before." He said. "But we never met face to face."

"Where did you see me?"

"Weren't you the student who designed the set for _Monster High_?"

"Yeah." That was a project at school she helped with a year ago. The theater school would always hire an architecture student to sketch and arrange the sets for their productions and Ariadne created a high school for monsters.

"I was Duce in that play. The guy with the snake Mohawk."

"That was you? Then I guess you have seen me before. You go to theater school in Paris?"

"Oui. I'm Jean Neacteaux, in case if you didn't know that already."

"Neacteaux… my grandma always mentions that name when it comes to her work."

"Is she a wine maker?"

"Yes."

"Then she's probably competing against my father's vineyard."

"Your family makes wine too?"

"One of the biggest in France. I'm sure you've tasted some?"

"Not recently." Said Ariadne. "When I go out with my friends, I usually go for a beer. That's just how Canadian I am."

Jean laughed a chuckle like a powerful gods. "Your from Canada?"

"Originally. Then I moved to LA with my grandparents and moved to Paris for school." She pushed some of her hair back. "That's a cool scarf."

"Oh?" he looked down at his scarf. "Why, thank you. I like to wear them all the time."

Ariadne pulled on the green scarf around her neck. "I have at least thirty sitting around in my apartment."

"So do I. Do you wear them all the time?"

"Even on hot days, I have a scarf on." She said with a smirk. "A lot of people tell me to take my scarf off and I just smirk at them."

"I once dated a girl who would say, 'It's hot out. Lose the scarf'. And she broke up with me over that."

"She dumped you over a scarf?"

"She got sick of my collection." Jean chuckled. "So she broke up with me because of that, and she didn't like my obsession with black and white movies."

Ariadne laughed. "Some girls are so closed-minded. Its too bad closed-minded people don't come with closed mouths."

"Life is cruel sometimes." Said Jean.

"So what movies do you watch?" she asked. "Black and white ones, that is?"

"The monster classics." Jean began. "_Dracula _with Bela Lugosi, _The Wolfman_, _The Mummy,_ _The Creature From the Black Lagoon_, _Frankenstein_, and then I like the classics; _Casablanca_, _It's a Wonderful Life_, _King Kong_, _The Three Stooges_… I only like originals. I can't stand remakes."

"I've only watched _The Three Stooges_ a few times."

"And my favorite movie is _The Count of Monte Cristo_."

"I've never heard of it."

"You should watch it. It's a about a man who escaped prison planning revenge on the men who turned him in. It's also quite romantic, that is, if you like romance movies. You see his lover was forced to marry his enemy."

"I'm not really a romance person." She said. "But it sounds interesting. I'd love to see it."

"I have all of my movies put on my laptop." He said. "We can watch some once the plane takes off. After all, were going to be sitting here for ten and a half hours."

"Don't remind me." Said Ariadne with a laugh.

"At least they're feeding us."

"Processed chicken and fish." Ariadne predicted.

"Actually…" Jean took out a menu from the pouch behind the seat in front of him. "They have a choice of pepperoni or cheese pizza for lunch, and fancy pastas for dinner. And look at this; all the wine you can drink."

"I've had plenty of wine in my life." Said Ariadne. "I'll just go for a Budweiser."

"What exactly does beer taste like?" Jean asked. "I've never tried it."

"Uh… I really don't know how to describe it. You have to try some. And get Canadian beer because that's the best there is."

"Attention passangers, we are ready for takeoff. Please fasten your seatbelts and put all personal belongings under the seat in front of you. The flight from Los Angeles California to Paris France is estimated to be ten hours and forty-two minutes. During your flight, food will be provided…" the pilot on the PA went on about airplane safety and what to do if the plane was on fire or falling or if it hit the water. The experienced passengers already knew what to do so they were very annoyed at the stewardess demonstrating how to use an oxygen mask.

"Just shut up and take us already, I have school." Ariadne grumbled, tapping her fingers against the arm of her seat.

"I have rehearsal at noon." When the talking finally stopped, it came up again. The exact words were repeated but only in French. Jean rolled his eyes and swore in his first language. It seemed like hours until the pilot shut his mouth and the plane began to move.

Take off and landing were the best parts of a flight, according to Ariadne. The time in between felt like nothing. She just hoped a storm wouldn't come in and rattle the jet. That would scare her to death.

Since she got up early to make the flight, Ariadne decided to take a quick nap. She reclined her seat, rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. When she woke up, she felt something soft supporting her head and something warm over her body. Jean smiled as he saw her wake.

"You looked cold." He said. "I asked them to bring those for you."

"Oh?" she asked still a little tired. "Thanks."

"Tired?"

"A little." She yawned and stretched out her arms. "How long was I out?"

"Two hours. That means eight and three quarters more to go." On his lap was the script to his most recent play.

"That's a big script." She pointed out. "What part are you?"

"I'm the male lead." He said without bragging or snarling.

"Your Hercules? That must be exciting… Does your director need help with sets at all?"

"I don't know. I'll talk to him about that. But yes, the set you made for _Monster High_ was amazing. I think he'd love it if you helped him out again."

Ariadne blushed a little. "Well thanks. You just let me know what he thinks. So is this like the Disney _Hercules _or what?"

"Actually, it is. There are way more songs though."

"Doesn't Broadway usually do Disney on stage first?"

"Usually; but since they're so busy with _The Lion King_, we decided we wanted to bring a Disney movie to life also. The director asked them for approval already. I'm surprised they agreed to let a theater school perform it."

"But it's professional theater." She was half guessing, half stating.

"For theater majors, yes." Said Jean. "When I finish school, I plan to live in the Paris Opera and perform there."

"That's a beautiful theater. I had to go there for a school project once; I was stunned."

"There's nothing quite like European architecture. In the United States it's alright… but in Europe-."

"I had to work a lot to get the money to got to school in Paris. But tips and paychecks weren't enough so my grandparents pitched in. And it was worth it."

"Some of the ugliest buildings are in the United States." He thought that would make her a little mad but she nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. I couldn't study in North America. I did consider London and Rome but in the end I choose Paris."

"And a wise choice that is." Said Jean. "So, care to watch a movie?"

Ariadne completely forgot about the movies he mentioned. "Oh yeah, sure. Do you have that one movie you told me about?"

"I do." He said as if he was swearing in court to tell the truth. Jean went through his extensive movie library and pressed 'return' on the movie title. Ariadne plugged her earbuds into his laptop and watched. For the entire duration, she couldn't stop looking at the screen. It was like a book she couldn't put down. Even when she had to get up to use the restroom, Ariadne stayed in her seat until the end. "So, how was it?"

"It…" she couldn't find words for it. "It's defiantly something I have never seen before quite like it. I mean… I saw _The Notebook_ and _Titanic_ and never cried once. This movie almost made me cry at the end."

"If this movie can't make you weep, I don't know what will." Jean closed his laptop and put it away. Lunch rolled around the corner and the two wound up chatting up a storm between bites of their pizza and drinks of their beers.

Jean didn't care much for the taste of Budweiser but he would do anything this girl asked him too. It's almost as if he was falling for her like a mad man. A few hours later, she was out again. He wanted to comb those brown waves and smell her perfume. It was the scent of heaven. Jean thought it was cute whenever she rolled over or stirred in her slumber.

Many hours later, the flight ended. Ariadne was still snoozing. Jean shook her lightly.

"Were here now." He told her. She blinked.

"Oh?" she yawned. "Finally."

He let her get out of her seat and followed her into the terminal. Jean didn't want to lose her so he tried to stay close. Once they exited the gate, he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Before you go…" he said. "Take this with you." Jean ripped out a sheet of paper from his notebook and wrote something on it.

She looked at the slip and smirked. "I'll call you." She said. "Guess I'll see you again soon."

"I sure hope so."


	4. Playing the Game

Ariadne was still deathly tired as her alarm clock informed her that she had an hour to get ready for school. She moaned before turning it off and getting up. Walking like a zombie, the first stop in the process of preparing for school was to make coffee. Getting sprayed with hot water would also help. As her coffee was being made, she turned on the shower and undressed. When she got out five minutes later, Ariadne put some apple strudel Jules made her into the toaster and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Waiting for the beverage to cool and the pastry to warm, she went into her small bedroom and picked up a random pair of jeans from the floor. Ariadne put a union jack scarf around her neck and combined it with a grey t-shirt and red jacket. After taking a sip of her coffee, she took out her phone and texted Jules.

'Thanks for the pastry. Meet me for lunch?'

Jules didn't have classes in the morning so she expected an immediate respond with Jules being a texting addict. The phone started to vibrate.

'Hell yea!' It read. Ariadne smiled and finished breakfast before grabbing her school supplies and heading out the door. When she got to the classroom, she forgot that Miles was in California still with his grand children. Ariadne went to the study hall across the building and examined her notes for a few hours before Jules came.

As she went down the stairs, a ginger girl in a printed tube top, tight jeans, high heels and a pair of dark shades was waiting.

"Well if it isn't Miss Over-achiever." she said teasingly.

"Hey Jules." Ariadne came up and hugged her. "I'm sorry I wasn't here when the incident happened."

"No worries." Said Jules putting her hand up. "You were very busy and I understand that. After getting out of the hospital, I literally spent fifteen hours in the kitchen making up what I missed."

"Fifteen hours?"

"What? You've never spent fifteen hours strait studying?" Jules put an arm around Ariadne's shoulders and led her out of the lecture hall onto the Parisian streets. They arrived to a small cafe and sat outside by a table with an umbrella. "Anything interesting happen in L.A.?"

Ariadne put her coffee down. "Not much happened while I was there but I did meet a guy."

"Details." Jules demanded eagerly. "What's his name, what does he look like?"

Her short friend chuckled. "His name is Jean and he has brown hair. It's spelled like 'gene' and he's a theater student here."

"A theater student? Then he must be good looking."

"He was, but let's be rational here. A guy like him would never go for a girl like me."

"Since when were you so pessimistic?" Jules asked.

"I'm not." Ariadne protested.

"Then text him. He gave you his digits, right?"

"He did." Said Ariadne as she scrolled through her contacts and stopped by the J's. "But he might have a girlfriend or I'm not his type."

Jules eyes crossed behind her shades. "Girl, how long has it been since you've been romantically active?"

The Architect thought for a moment. "Five years. But you knew that."

"You've been sitting out for five years." Jules repeated. "So your going to let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game? Sweetie, love is like a baseball diamond."

"With the bases?"

"Not just the bases." Said Jules. "The thing is, you've never gone out to bat. That's what'll keep you in the sidelines."

"Your right." Said Ariadne. "I'm going to text him right now."

"That's my girl." Jules grinned. "And don't worry about the bases part yet."

"I don't even want to know what a homerun is." 'Bonjour Jean, it's Ariadne. Is this the right number?_'_ She pressed send.

"I'm not saying you have to hit a homerun. First, this guy has to prove himself worthy. Remember this; an A plus boyfriend will always open the door for you, pull out your chair, listen when your speaking to him and treat you the same way a king treats his queen."

"So Cupid, any luck with relationships?"

"If you see that motherfucker, stab him for me please."

Ariadne laughed. Her phone vibrated and turned on the table.

"Yes, this is the right Jean. Hello Ariadne. How are you?" she read the message out loud.

"I like him already." Said Jules.

"The funny thing is, we both wear scarves all the time. He might have more than me."

"No one has more scarves than you." Said Jules. "You have more scarves than Suze Orman has jackets." She followed that statement with an imitation of the financial advisor. Ariadne laughed again.

"Your good at imitations, you know that?"

"Well..."

"Oh shut up." Ariadne teased as she texted Jean back.

"What'cha type?" Jules peered over.

"I asked him if he talked to the director about sets for a musical."

"If they hire you to design the set, the boys going to volunteer for the construction. I guarantee it."

Ariadne ignored Jules as she looked at the reply.

'Don't worry I'll talk to him.' was the texts message. The phone vibrated again. 'You know where the theater school is?'

Ariadne typed back that she did.

'Meet me at the entrance at seven. We'll have dinner.'

"Well, it's official. He asked me to dinner."

"Told you!"

"Not so fast Miss Matchmaker." Said Ariadne. "He didn't invite me as a date."

"But he still invited you." Said Jules. "I say go for it."

Ariadne sighed and told Jean she would love to meet up with him for dinner.

'Great. How does La Ratatouille sound?' Another text read.

"He's taking me to La Ratatouille."

"He just tricked you into going out with him." said Jules.

"No he did not."

The green eyes hidden behind the shades rolled. "I'm a cooking student. I've literally eaten at every restaurant in Paris. La Ratatouille is a dating spot. When I was there, most of the tables had couples."

Ariadne gulped but Jules didn't hear.

"Alright." Ariadne took in a deep breath. "But don't expect me to look different tonight."


	5. Date Or No Date?

In the front of the theater school was a gigantic fountain of Dionysius. People knew him as the Greek God of Wine, but in the thespians of the world, he was the King of Theater. Crystal waters poured from his wine bottle. Sitting on the ledge of his marble territory was a young French man in skinny jeans and a white turtleneck. The man stepped off the border when a young woman in a red jacket approached him.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting." she said with a weak smile.

"Don't worry about it Cherie." his French accent was like silk, smooth and gorgeous. He detected a small color change in her cheeks. "C'mon. Were about to eat at my favorite restaurant." Jean seemed like a professional to her, but then again she didn't know what professional flirting was. Jean looped his arm around hers and escorted her down the street.

"Jules told me this place is impossible to get into unless reserved six months in advance." she said. Jean chuckled.

"My parents know the owner. He'll get us a table."

When they got there, he opened the door for her. Jules' words rang in her ears. _Ok, so he opened the door_, she thought. _That doesn't mean this is a date._

To her surprise, Jean was right. The moment they stepped inside skimming through the crowd, the host brought them upstairs. Candles and dim lights made Ariadne question the situation of the dinner. Jules was certainly right about it being a dating restaurant. A majority of the tables were for two.

At the table, Jean pulled Ariadne's chair out and pushed it in when she took her seat. So far, he was passing Jules' boyfriend test. To avoid awkward silence, she brought up a question she had already asked.

"Did you talk to the director?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. He said he'd love you to help out since last years set was one of the best he's seen."

"That's great." Ariadne opened the menu to skim through all the dishes.

"Their ratatouille appetizer is to die for." said Jean.

"Hence it being to name of the restaurant." said Ariadne as she looked at the poultry items. "What do you usually get?"

"Normally I order the duck but I really should try something else."

"Did you try the elk?"

"Not yet. Maybe I'll get that. The desserts here are the best."

"My stomach can only fit an appetizer and the main course." Ariadne laughed softly. "I get full too easily. I think I'll get the beef."

"That also looks good. It beats the airplane food we had."

Ariadne couldn't think of anything food related to say so it was time to shuffle the cards and bring out a new topic.

"How did you become so interested in theater?" she asked. Jean put his menu down.

"Well Cherie, I was born in a theater. Literally." Her eyebrows rose in curiosity. "My parents are both performers at the Paris Opera. When I was coming, my mother said they didn't have time to get to a hospital. And when I arrived, my father looked at me and told me I would be famous."

"So you've been training your entire life."

"I didn't mind it. They taught me everything involved with theater. They even taught me English."

"So French is your first language?" she felt a little sheepish asking him that.

"Oui. But I don't get to use it very often outside of home."

"Now what I think is funny is when people come to study at a foreign country and they don't know how to speak the language."

Jean chuckled. "Then why would they be here?"

"There's a funny story about that." said Ariadne. "My first year of going to school here, Jules and I met this Japanese girl. She was sitting by herself so we decided to greet her. We both assumed she could speak French, I mean why else would she be there? So we said 'hi' to her in French and asked her what her name was."

"She was speechless, wasn't she?"

"She just nodded her said and said 'uh huh'. We tried to talk to her again in English, but no luck."

"I wonder how she got around."

"She probably had a guide but they weren't there at the moment." said Ariadne. "But still, that would be embarrassing. It's a good thing I've taken French since middle school."

"Tell me about your family." he said. "Your a very interesting person Ariadne. I wonder what your family's like."

Ariadne could feel herself blushing. "Well, I have two younger sisters who are twins. Mirra's a fashion designer and Jenaya styles hair. Their total opposites but they both love roller derby."

"What's that?"

She seemed surprised about his question at first but then remembered that derby was more of an American sport.

"It's a woman's sport."

"Like cheering?"

"Not exactly. It's much more brutal than cheerleading. It's roller skating in an oval where you have to knock down people on the other team so you can score."

"And women play this?"

"My sisters have been skating since they could walk. It was something they've always wanted to do and Mirra is the captain."

"Good for her."

Ariadne nodded in agreement. "I've never been to a game but based on the way they describe it, I wouldn't bring anyone classy there."

"My family would hate it then." said Jean. "However, it sounds interesting."

"I'll give you the link to the teams website. They have videos and everything. So what's your family like?"

Jean waved his hand and put it on the table. "Well, as you know, my parents are actors. My fathers parents run the wine business."

"Any siblings?"

"I have a younger sister named Belle."

"That's my grandmas name." Ariadne smiled as memories of her with Belle replayed in her head. "She's crazy but I love her."

"Belle is very bossy and can be a real bitch." He explained. "Just be happy you haven't met her."

The waiter came and they ordered drinks. The dinner was absolutely delicious and both of them knew because they had trouble speaking between courses. Then the check came.

"Let me." He stopped her from taking her wallet out.

"Are you sure? I mean, I did order more."

"The gentleman pays." He said.

"We split it." She tried to fight. Jean shook his head and put his hand up.

"No. It's my treat."

She sighed in defeat. "Fine, but next time I'm paying."

They walked onto the streets with their arms looped again. Nighttime in Paris was always beautiful. Ariadne began to feel slightly odd because the atmosphere was romantic.

"Don't you love France at sunset?"

"I love it." Said Ariadne. They were in front of the Eiffel Tower. Jean sat down and leaned against a tree. Ariadne sat next to him but kept a distance.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Oui?"

"My friend Jules… she said that place we just ate at was a dating restaurant. Is this a date?"

"Uh…" Jean seemed speechless. "I did not intend for it do be a date, just a friendly dinner."

"That's what I thought." She sighed in relief.

"Did you want it to be a date Cherie?"

"Well I wasn't expecting anything romantic. Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Non." He replied. Ariadnes eyebrow cocked up.

"Really?"

"You look surprised." Jean peered over and folded his arms behind his head.

"Well I assumed you were dating another theater student." She said.

"Non. The theater girls were never of my liking."

"Why not?"

"For starters…" he took a strand of her hair in his hand and put his finger over it. "None of them have hair this beautiful." She was signaled to crawl closer to him and she shifted a foot forward.

"Any other reasons?"

Jean smiled bigger than she's ever seen before.

"Well, none of them are interested in scarf collecting." His hand let go of her hair and pinched the end of the scarf she was wearing. "And all they do is fuss about their appearances… besides, I prefer foreign girls."

"And by foreign you mean outside of Europe?"

"Oui." Her face stretched a little closer to his. "Ariadne…"

"Yes?"

"I don't know how Canadian boys handle this but I'm French so I'm doing this the French way." A lump was caught in his throat but he swallowed it and moved on, his voice shaky. "I don't want to scare you."

_Scare me? I've been to Limbo and fell hundreds of feet down to wake up. Not to mention I had to deal with Cobbs crazy dead wife. What can scare me?_

"You won't." she pulled her hair back.

"I can't hold this in any longer." Jean started. "And I hope I don't humiliate myself after this."

"Whatever you say I'll keep secret." Ariadne promised him.

"Well, since you won't tell anyone… and if you don't agree, I hope you can forget I ever said anything and we still be friends."

The thumping that reached Ariadne's ears was the beating of Jeans heart. She waited for him to say it.

"I like you more than a friend." He finally confessed. "I wont be surprised if you don't believe me either. I've only known you for a few days but you make me feel happy. Never had I met anyone so fascinating."

Ariadnes hand went up to his cheek rubbing against his stubble. "I could honestly say the same thing." Without another word, she brushed her lips over his. Jeans breath consisted of a foul odor but that didn't stop her from kissing him again.

"So are we…"

"Yes." She finished. "Only if we take it slow from here."


	6. French Kissing

Normally, Ariadne didn't go on Facebook every few hours. But the next morning she changed her relationship status from "single" to "In a relationship with Jean Neacteaux." It only took twenty seconds before Jules called.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" she squealed over the line. "You two are dating now! Tell me everything!"

Ariadne chuckled. "We had dinner and sat by the Eiffel Tower."

"And it just happened?"

"He told me he liked me and I thought I'd give him a chance."

"Well I just looked at his Facebook page. He is cute, I'll tell you."

"That's not why I'm dating him."

"I know." Said Jules. "So did you kiss?"

"For a bit."

"How long was it?"

"About thirty seconds."

"Did you shove your tongue inside him?" Jules teased.

"That's nasty Jules!" Ariadne snapped.

"What? They call it French kissing for a reason." The red head was snickering.

"It was not that intense and I do not plan to go any further for a while."

"Good girl." Said Jules. "Remember, stay a virgin."

"Will do. I have to go to class now. My professor is back from LA."

Ariadne stepped in the shower for five minutes then wrapped herself in a towel. The mirror was coated in steam as she stepped out. During hr shower, she was question herself about whether dating Jean would be a good or bad idea.

_It's not as if were rushing or anything._ She thought. _He said we'd go slow from here but yet I'm concerned._

Ariade rubbed the steam off the mirror before opening it to get the face wash. When the cabinet snapped shut, a tall figure made her spin around. Her fingers tightened around the towel to keep her breasts covered.

"Arthur!"

"I'm not Arthur." Replied the figure. "I'm an illusion."

"I should have known." Ariadne felt like face palming herself. "What do you want?"

"Date him." He said. "Give him a chance, he's made no mistakes yet." With that, the illusion faded.

Walking across the bridge to the college, Ariadne was a little shaken. Why was the illusion of Arthur? Why not one of her sisters or even her deceased mother? It only happened once that day so she decided to try to forget about it. It's not like it would happen again.

Class went by normally as usual with Professor Miles going strait to the lectures. Ariadne sketched Japanese castles in her book along with the other students as Miles explained the meaning behind Japanese architecture.

"Remember class, your graduating soon. But you won't graduate unless you pass your last exam. This exam will decide if you will be successful architects or not." A few students grew nervous at his words. "But knowing you bright people, I don't expect failure from any of you."

The bell went off in the halls and the students stampeded out.

"Ariadne, a word please." Said Miles. The architect walked over to his desk. The professor checked to make sure no one else was around as if the walls had ears. "Tell me all about it."

"I made a city, hotel and hospital." She explained. "It was astounding to say the least."

"It's sure a thrill ride, isn't it?"

"Sure is."

"Now did I see you leave the airport in Los Angeles?" he asked. "I told Cobb you weren't supposed to come with them."

"I made him. My fault." She confessed.

"You do realize what you put yourself through."

"I had to go, because Mal could have appeared and in fact she did. She shot Robert in the third dream level and Cobb and I had to go get him in Limbo."

"You went to Limbo?" His mouth dropped. "Cobb let you into Limbo?"

"I'm fine now." She said. "If we didn't go, the mission would have failed. We probably wouldn't have woken up and if Cobb woke up if the mission failed, he'd go to jail for the rest of his life. Wouldn't you have?"

Miles sighed. "Do you still dream?"

"I haven't dreamed recently. Being in Limbo, I probably wouldn't anyway."

"Ariadne…" Miles leaned over. "I am so grateful for what you've done to help Dom return to his children. He wouldn't have seen them again if it weren't for you. When he stepped in the house, I've never seen James and Phillipa smile so much. Do you know how much that means to me?"

"I'm sure it means a lot to you."

"Dom told me to say hello to you." Miles shifted the conversation. "And he wish's you the best of luck."

"Thank you." Ariadne sat up and stung her sack over her shoulder. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. When she left the classroom, Ariadne opened the phone to see a text from Jean. The director of the play wanted to see her.

She felt like a freshmen again trying to find her way into the theater. Since a lot of theater majors dressed similar to Ariadne she blended in. When she got into the giant theater, Ariadne froze and observed the room. The theater was absolutely gorgeous with its scarlet seats and golden poles. On the ceiling was a mosaic of early Greek theater.

She looked toward the stage to see two men chatting. Ariadne was hesitant to move forward. When she got a better look, she saw the tall man in the sweater vest was the director.

"Monsieur?" Ariadne approached the man with caution as if he was a buffalo.

"Oui?"

"Jean told you that I wanted to design sets. I'm Ariadne."

"Oh yes! You came just in time. Now the sets you designed last year were astounding. I'm very excited to see what you come up with."

"Thank you. So I'm pretty sure I know what sets are in the movie. What sets are needed for the stage?"

"I'm glad you asked." Said Monsieur. "As you know, there's Zeus kingdom, the underworld, the mortal couples house, Phils house, the temple of Zeus…"

"And what about the Zeus statue?"

"You'll draw it out but the tech crew will take care of building and manufacturing it." Said Monsieur. "And there's the stadium, the mansion and the house that leads into the garden."

"Are those all the buildings?"

"Oui. Any questions?"

"When does this all have to be finished?"

"Opening night is in two months." Monsieur confirmed. Ariadne found herself starring at the back of the stage. A figure in a three-piece suit walked from one side to the other eyeing her only once; Arthur.

"In that case, were gonna need a lot of pillars." She said. "I have to go now but I'll get right to work."

"Where you going?" Monsieur called out. Ariadne did not holler back as she sprinted down the aisle. When she got outside, she wasted no time to get to Miles.

His lecture hall was empty when she crashed through the door. Miles was at his desk looking over tests. He looked up, surprised to see her.

Her hands stood on the desk. The professor could see the fright in her eyes.

"They came back."


	7. Giant Pillar Falling

Miles slipped off his glasses and folded his arms over the table.

"Who are you seeing this time? Your father again?"

"No. I keep seeing Arthur."

Miles was stunned at this for she usually only saw illusions of people she couldn't stand. "Your seeing Arthur?"

"Yeah and I don't know why."

"Do you not like him?"

Ariadne shook her head. "No. He's very nice which is why I don't know why I'm seeing illusions of him."

"Where did you see him?" Miles asked.

"In the bathroom and at the theater. He walked across the stage and looked at me."

"Did he ever speak to you?"

"He told me something."

"And he looked the same way he always has?"

"Same suits, same hair."

"Very interesting… I think you should talk to a doctor about this."

"No." she said immediately. "My sister claims it's a gift but obviously it's a disorder that makes me see people who aren't there. I've tried seeing a lot of doctors but all of them said the same thing."

"Well does your head hurt?"

"No."

"Is your vision blurring?"

"No."

"You've been through a lot lately." Miles suggested. "Performing an Inception as your first job is never easy. What you need is rest."

"But I have things to do." She protested. "I volunteered to design the set for the theater schools next production."

"Did you? Ah yes, I remember you did that last year. Very impressive."

"Why do you think I'm only seeing him? Why not Cobb or Eames?"

"Do you care for Arthur?"

Ariadne's eyebrows crunched together. "Like romantically?"

"Possibly." Miles shrugged.

"No. You know what would happen if we dated."

"Or you can learn from Cobb and Mal's mistakes and try to avoid them." Miles advised.

"There's no way I could get with Arthur. I'm only twenty-three. He's what, twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?"

"Around twenty-seven." Said Miles. "Go relax. Draw some sets. Study for the big test. Put him out of your thoughts for now."

"Ok." Ariadne sighed. "I guess they'll be away by tomorrow." She started to leave when his voice made her turn back.

"What did he tell you?"

Ariadne was hesitant to say anything. "Uh… he told me I should date this guy I sorta like."

Miles nodded. "Don't let that relationship business throw you off track."

"I know." Said Ariadne. _Seriously, I doubt it will last._

Back at the apartment she lay on the couch with a new sketchbook. The first scene was in Mount Olympus so she imagined what a Greek Gods kingdom would look like.

_It's high on the mountain so they'd walk on clouds. There would be pillars bordering the set. There's a crib for the baby and a thrown for Zeus… oh yeah, and the pile of gifts. _That was a simple set. There wasn't much building in that scene. She began to draw the mansion. _Lets see… floors don't matter on stage but there will be a fancy couch…_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the phone on the coffee table vibrated. "Hello?"

"Bonjour Cherie."

"Bonjour Jean."

"I didn't see you at the theater today." He said. "Why'd you leave so soon?"

"Because I had to start sketching." She lied.

"You think you can take a break and have lunch with me?"

She was being pulled in both directions about that easy question. Part of her was saying, "No." and another said "Go for it!" It was like there was an angel on one shoulder, devil on the other.

"Sorry Jean but I really want to get this set finished."

"Ok, I understand Cher."

"But listen…" she stopped him from hanging up. "You can help build the set right?"

"Each actor in the show has to help for at least two hours." Said Jean.

"I'm going to be there in a couple of days to watch over the crew. Maybe you could help out that day?"

"Sounds like a date." She imagined him winking at her over the line.

"Great. I'll see you in a couple of days."

Ariadne turned her phone off and dropped it.

"He seems like a gentlemen." Her head turned to see Arthur again standing by the TV. "Hopefully he'll get your mind off of Arthur."

"How can I not think of him?" she asked. "He's unique… why am I talking to an illusion of him?"

"I'm not just an illusion." He said. "I'm a part of your mind. I tell you what you believe and want but not dare to say."

"Well it's a good thing other's can't see you."

"You should date Jean. He's a very nice boy. I know you favor Arthur but you know it's not possible to be with him."

"I know that."

"He would rather be with a tall blonde than with a short thing like you anyway."

Ariadne shook her head. "No. He wouldn't date at all. No wedding, no kids, no peace. Just work." Ariadne huffed. "I love dream-sharing but I'd still do anything for a life."

"I know you would. But you'll never have one with a job like that."

After he said that, she steamed up like a Boston lobster. "Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't have!" she roared. "I want to be more than just an architect; I want to be a mother someday and you can't tell me how my life will end up!" With that, she picked up the picture frame on the nightstand and chugged it at him. It went right through him and clattered against the wall.

"You need a husband for that." Arthur continued, as if nothing happened.

"And I'll get one!" she snapped. "Now go off somewhere and bother me later."

The shape of Arthur faded away like a ghost. "I'll show myself." She said again. Now she understood what the illusions were. They were the half of conscience that told her what she didn't want to admit. These images were like an opposing debater. Whenever she was stuck with a decision, which wasn't common, a hologram of someone would appear.

But why was it Arthur?

Being a successful architect was only one dream she had in mind. Ariadne had another she wanted to be a reality. She wanted to be the mother of a baby girl. Named after the heroine in Lewis Carroll's classic, Ariadnes favorite childhood story, Little Alice would be smart like her mother and talented like her father.

She pictured the child running on the beach collecting shells, her long dark hair flying behind her. Like the Alice in the book, Little Alice was always curious and wanted to go different places. No Red Queen would scare this child; Little Alice was braver than a queen lioness.

_I'm thinking way too ahead! _Ariadne snapped out of her daydream and tried to get back to work.

A couple days passed and the crew started building the set. Several wooden pillars were standing on the stage waiting to be painted. Ariadne was standing by them giving instructions to one of the builders. Jean was right by her.

"And if I see any of you horse around then your gone. And that would make the construction longer." She said strictly. A few of the male crewmembers snickered thinking even though she was in charge, they didn't have to listen to her. "Ok, get the paint buckets and get a move on."

"You sounded like you were in charge." Jean praised.

"Well I'm very picky sometimes." She admitted. "But all architects are."

Jean kneeled down beside one of the pillars and took the brush next to the can. "I love how these are carved so nicely like a real pillar. Have you ever actually been to Greece?"

"No. I'd love to but I can't now with finals in five weeks." She said. "I already started to study so all is well."

Jean stroked the brush over the wooden sculpture. "I have a theater exam if you can believe that."

"Well didn't you have to learn about how theater started, what kinds of approaches there are, stage directions, famous plays and Shakespeare anyway?"

"In high school." He said. "It gets worse here. I never had a chance to ask you this."

"What?" Was he going to ask her out on a date? If she were a thermometer, the mercury would be raising quickly.

"How did you get so interested in architecture?"

And the mercury line went down.

"I always loved the castles where the Disney princesses lived. I wanted one just like theirs. After seeing Hogwarts School on _Harry Potter_, I really wanted a castle. My mom would by me toy buildings instead of dolls and soon I started building my own models out of Legos. That's when I knew I wanted to be an architect." She told him.

"So which princess castle did you like the most?"

Ariadne did not expect him to ask her questions about her interests but she knew right then that he wanted to listen to her.

"Belle's. It was a two in one."

Jean chuckled without turning to look at her. The next moments were dead, the only sounds coming from the bristles on the cedar. Ariadne checked her watch. _Break the ice already!_

"So, are you free this weekend?"

Jean put the brush down.

"Oui. But there's a party on Friday I was going to."

"Oh."

"But I'm free Saturday." He finished. "Would you like to see my apartment and watch a movie?"

"Uh… sure." Ariadne was almost ready to faint. "Sounds like fun."

The look on Jeans face shifted from contentment to fear. Ariadne was about to question him when he exclaimed, "Get out of the way!" He leapt toward her and pushed her to the floor five feet away from the danger zone. A pillar must have been pushed because it almost killed her. The fierce crash reflected throughout the theater.

"Are you ok?"

She looked up to expect Jean holding her down. Instead, she saw Arthur starring at her, his hands around her forearms.

"I'm fine." She sat up. "No thanks to them." Ariadne marched over to the crewmembers that were supposed to paint it. "What the fuck happened here?"

"It was his fault!" said the tall one pointing to the short one.

"He put paint in my hair!" The short one argued.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. These guys were around their twenties and they still acted like kids.

"What part of no horsing around did you not understand?" she snapped. "I almost got killed!" Ariadne pointed at the fallen pillar that broke a hole through the stage. "And you vandalized a two hundred year old stage!"

"You guys are dumbasses." Said Jean shaking his head in disapproval. Everyone working on the stage looked onto the scene.

"Get out!" Ariadne ordered. It was very rare to see this girl get enraged. The one thing that got on her last nerve was people who vandalized or tried to destroy her work. "I worked my butt off designing this set and since you can't seem to understand that, leave!"

"Wait until Monsieur see's this." Said Jean.

"Can't wait." Ariadne growled.

What the hell happened? When she went to look up at Jean after being pushed, she saw Arthur. He was _touching _her; illusions _never_ touched her. Ariadne was not torn between two choices when it happened. As she was about to understand this disorder, it grew more confusing.

"Cherie." She gazed over at Jean. "Cherie, don't worry about it. They'll fix it."

Ariadne took a deep breath and sighed.

"If Monsieur asks where I am, tell him I got a headache and had to leave."

"Are we still on for Saturday?" he asked with a hint of doubt.

"I promise I'll be fine by then." Ariadne told him. "I'll meet you in front of the school at six." Jean gave her and amorous hug to comfort her.

"I'll see you then." Jean looked forward slightly concerned as his new girlfriend proceeded away from him.

"That's your girlfriend?" Jean turned to see one of his friends Luc who was in the production with him. "She's cute. I'd be lucky to have a girl like that."

"What are you saying?" Jeans eyes squinted and turned red in his mind.

"Relax. I'm just saying she's cute. I like the way she handled those dumbasses over there."

Jean took one last gaze at Ariadne before she crossed the doors and left his sight.

"I'm one hell of a lucky guy."


	8. Black Eye

Jeans apartment was noting Ariadne expected. When he flipped on the lights she turned green with envy. It was her dream apartment. They stepped inside to be standing on polished wood floors. The walls were marble white like the couch. Behind the couch were five skinny mirrors on the wall. In front of the couch was a fireplace with only a mirror over it.

"I know your parents had money and all but if mine were that wealthy, they still wouldn't let me stay at a place like this."

"I didn't have to talk them into it." Said Jean. "I told them I wanted to be alone and I pay for my rent. You like it?"

"So far." She scanned the room.

"But that's not the best part." Jean walked over to the window and put his hand around the string. "This is." When the drapes opened, standing in front of them like a gold statue was the Eiffel Tower glowing miles away.

"I've seen the Eiffel Tower so many times and I almost got tired of seeing it." She told him. "But I never saw it like this before."

"That's why I love it here." He put his arms around her waist and leaned his chin on her shoulder. His stubble tickled her cheek slightly. "It's the most beautiful thing about this apartment but only when you're not around."

Another complement. That was the twentieth so far. Ariadne didn't know if she should have been flattered or creped out. To her it seemed awkward having to say 'thank you' rapidity after each nice thing was said.

"Why me?" she asked.

"What are you talking about Cherie?"

"Why did you choose me over those other girls?"

Jean didn't move away from her but instead stroked her hair.

"Because I like you." That was his simple answer that didn't satisfy her. "Does this bother you?"

"I just don't get it." She stated crossing her arms.

"What's not to understand?" he asked pulling away from her.

Ariadne looked back at her sophomore year at Parry Sound. She had a boyfriend in the day named Adam. Their relationship was strong, but Adam decided to end it with a phone call. He was the only guy who would date the Goth girl, as she was years ago.

"Nothing. So are we gonna watch a movie?"

"Are you ok Cherie?" Jean placed his palms on her shoulders and looked in her eyes. A slight blur in the corner of her eye caught her attention. There the Point Man stood, back to taunt her again.

"It's ok Ariadne. Give him a chance."

She sighed. "Yeah I'm fine… just stressed with school, that's all."

"Well do you need to go home?"

"No." she answered instantly. "I wanna watch this movie." Ariadne looked back over where Arthur was standing to see him gone again.

"Well I hope you feel better soon." Said Jean. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Water please." Ariadne sat on the couch. "Where's the TV in here?"

"It's in the mirror." Jean called from the kitchen. He walked back over with a tall glass of cold water.

"You mean the mirror flips over?"

"Something like that." Jean picked up one of the controllers from the nightstand and hit the red button. The mirror above the fireplace lit up with a picture and the news started playing on it.

"The mirror is the TV?"

"Oui. They're working on mirror TV's now."

"I haven't heard of them."

"Well they're not out in stores yet. My uncle works with the company making these and he got me one."

"Is there anything you don't have?" she asked teasingly.

"A lot of things." He smirked. "I don't have an airline."

That immediately reminded her of the time she was in a test run at the hotel level where Saito said he bought an airline. Ariadne tried not to laugh since Jean would question her and she'd have to make up a story on the spot. Jean fell back onto the cushion next to hers and lapsed an arm around her shoulder.

"What do you want to watch?" he asked. "Casablanca?"

His girlfriend shook her head. "Something not as romantic. Like Dracula."

"Dracula it is." Jean browsed through the menu and selected Bela Lugosi's Dracula. "You read the book?"

"No." Ariadne replied. "I don't read much."

Jean clapped his hands and the lights dimmed causing the black and white screen to glow brighter. The first five minutes consisted of silence as Jonathon Harker was making his way to Castle Dracula. Ariadne was confused slightly since she didn't know the exact plot of the story. All she knew was that Dracula was the most famous vampire. She wasn't the kind of young adult that fantasized of having a vampire for a partner like many others and she wasn't a member of the _Twilight_ craze.

As the romance on screen sprung, Jean pulled Ariadne closer to him. When she looked up, she saw Arthur with his arms around her.

"_Quick, give me a kiss." _Is what she wanted him to tell her. For five minutes, she kissed a guy she assumed was Arthur despite the fact that her mind was playing tricks on her.

When a scene between Mina and Lucy began, Jean paused the film. Ariadne assumed he was getting up to use the restroom but he stayed in his place.

"Where were you between this morning and this afternoon?" he questioned her like a police officer. Ariadne sat up in confusion.

"I was at shop class and having lunch with Jules. Why?"

"I called you a bunch of times." He said. "You didn't pick up your phone. Did you not hear it ring?"

"It wasn't even on." Ariadne could sense Jean trying to pick an argument with her.

"Was it not on or were you just ignoring me?"

"Jean." Ariadne sighed. "Do you seriously think I'm seeing another guy? I wouldn't do that to you."

"I just want to know what your doing."

"Well you can't monitor my every move." She pointed out. "And you promised me you'd take things slowly."

"Sorry, I forgot about that. I was a little carried away."

"Well don't let this new relationship get in the way of everything else. You need to focus on your theater and I need to focus on my architecture."

"Oui, oui, alright." He brushed her comment off.

"If you can't do that then we might as well break up." She sneered. Jean laughed like a mad man.

"The fun has just begun." He said. Ariadne grabbed her jacket to evacuate the scene but he clutched her forearm. "I did not say you could leave."

"Let go of my arm now."

"And don't give me that Canadian attitude!" he snapped. "You said yourself you'd be mine."

"As in girlfriend, not possession!" she snapped. Jeans fist drew back like a boxing glove on a spring and jabbed it into her eye angrily. Ariadne pressed her free hand over her eye.

Jean got up and came back with an ice pack.

"I don't know what came over me." He said shamefully. "I just lost control of myself."

Ariadne forced the ice block on her eye. "Is it black?"

"A little."

"I should go now."

"Ariadne, I'm sorry." Jean apologized. "That was stupid and your right, I need to control my temper better. Your not going to tell are you?"

"No." she put her jacket on. "But I'm taking this ice pack with me."

"Keep it." He backed away nervously. "Get better."

Ariadne abandoned him without another word, slamming the door. Back at her apartment, she gazed at her reflection. It looked like she needed an eye patch more than Jules did. Her right eye was a little swollen and twitched like a strobe light. Ariadne pressed the ice back on it.

Jean asked her, actually begged her not to tell. Normally she'd want to squeal on him to the police but she was afraid he'd come after her. Besides, maybe he just had a control problem and needed space for a while.

"If you tell the police, they'll make sure he never touches you." Arthur stood next to her.

"Leave me in peace." She pleaded. "Now's not the time."

"Tell Miles at least."

Ariadne shook her head.

"You've been told about this is school, remember?" he recalled. "Date abuse."

"Jean is not abusing me." Ariadne growled. "He was just mad because I didn't answer his calls."

"You know it's true." He said sternly. "And it will get worse."

"Why the hell are you even here? Why not Mirra for a change?"

"Because you miss him." Said the illusion.

"You know I can't." With that, Ariadne hid her eyes behind a dark pair of sunglasses with shame written all over them.

**Before I forget, I'd like to ask you readers if you like to roleplay. Because I would love to run an Inception roleplay forum. Thoughts?**


	9. Jules Suspects

No sunshine shown through the lecture hall, making Ariadne seem suspicious as she walked into class wearing her cheap sunglasses. She didn't bother to speak to anyone and sat at her seat, wanting the day to end. Recently, she had been stressed because Arthur, of all people to hallucinate about, kept appearing in front of her. Sometimes, she saw him instead of the person she was in the room with, but only when that person touched her.

There was a guy in her class named Bernie who sat next to her. Constantly he got on her nerves. On occasion, he would pretend to flirt with her. Bernie always had the worst pick up lines that would get him killed if he used them on an Irish woman. One time in class he whispered to Ariadne, "Eh, madam. Let's go to Little Ceasers after class, eh?"

They had Little Ceasers in Paris? Maybe just one, she assumed.

"Why would I?" she whispered back in hope Miles didn't hear her.

"Because you're hot and I'm ready." The boys in the row behind them snickered.

She did not want him to talk to her that day but he did anyway.

"Nice shades Canada." Ariadne rolled her eyes. Ignoring an annoying person was always the best solution but he was on her like a bee to honey. "So, eh… you busy at all?"

"Bernie…" Ariadne sighed. "I have a boyfriend now. So stop pretending to like me because it's really getting old."

"A boyfriend eh? What's he like?"

"His name is Jean and he's an actor." She felt like bragging to him. "And he's a peach."

The boys behind him 'ooed' and laughed.

"Well eh, he's no Flinstone. Only I can make your bed rock." He snickered.

On cue, Professor Miles came in and told everyone to sit down. Ariadne hoped he didn't notice her new look even though she was assigned a seat in the front row. Miles had a strict no hats no sunglasses policy. He absolutely found it disrespectful when a student came in with their head and eyes covered.

"Miss Ariadne." He called out. "You know better. Please take those off."

_If he see's my black eye he's going to question me. What do I tell him?_ Ariadne slipped off the sunglasses.

"Damn, what happened to your eye?" Bernie asked.

"It was an accident…" she made up. "While building the set."

"Well there's nothing to be ashamed about if it was an accident." Said Miles.

After the lecture, Ariadne walked to the café to have lunch with Jules. She checked her phone to see that Jean texted her too many times in the past hour.

**Where are you?** His last text said.

**Was at class. Now at lunch.**

Jules was already at the table eating. In front of the chair across was Ariadne's usual order.

"Odd day to wear sunglasses, don't you think?" Ariadne ignored her remark and sat down.

"The sun's really been hurting my eyes lately." Said Ariadne. "It's like I'm a vampire or something."

"Beware of sparkling vampires." Jules laughed. "But it really hides your black eye." She took a bite of her salad.

"I didn't tell you about that."

"I know." Jules chewed casually, her voice like an evil kids. "Bernie did."

"When did Bernie talk to you?"

"He texts me a lot lately." Jules chuckled.

"It's me!" a French accent rang. "It's me!"

"What is that?"

"Jean recorded it." Ariadne explained. "So whenever he texts me, that comes up."

"Cute." Ariadne opened the phone and texted him back. "Don't you think your going too fast?"

"Going too fast would mean spending every second with the guy, right?"

"It's me!"

"That's one way." Said Jules. "How many times have you made out?"

"Only twice."

"And you've been with him for only two weeks? You need to slow down."

"It's me!"

"And you need to turn off that phone."

"I can't help it if he texts me every thirty seconds." Ariadne growled.

"Uh… that's kind of strange, don't you think?"

"He's my boyfriend."

Jules sighed. "Don't you think he's a little obsessed with you?"

"No." Ariadne shook her head.

"It's me!"

"He is." Jules grumbled. "That kind of worries me."

"What do you know?" Jules could sense her best friend heat up.

"I've been in more relationships than you and the shortest one's were because of spending too much time together.

"That won't happen. He said himself we'd go slow."

"Looks like your doing a great job." Jules scoffed.

"Shut up."

"So is he the reason why your wearing sunglasses now?"

"I told you, it's really sunny out."

"If the black eye was an accident then why are you ashamed of it?" Jules questioned.

Ariadne sighed. "I feel like a klutz, ok? It was an accident."

"It's me!"

"Ari…" Jules was now very concerned. "Did Jean hit you?"

Ariadne looked over at her best friend thinking about the consequences for being honest.

"No Jules. Jean did not hit me."

"Ari…" Jules leaned forward. "Tell me the truth."

"I am." Ariadne sneered. "I'm happy with him so just stop!" she picked up her sack and walked off.

Later that day, Jules went to see Miles. It was hard to find the room since she's never been down the hall but she found it when she saw him sitting at his desk. Jules tapped the door lightly. Miles looked up and granted her entry.

"I don't think you know me." She began. "I'm Jules, Ariadne's friend."

"I've seen you around here." He said. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about Ariadne." The professor's eyes beamed off his students' homework. "I'm worried."

"Is she cutting again?"

"No, but I'm afraid she might soon. You saw her black eye today, right?" Miles nodded. "Well, she recently stated going out with this guy and he text's her every minute. I think he hit her."

"Did you confront her about it?"

"Yes. She got mad."

Miles sighed.

"Can you just watch her more closely?" Jules requested. "I've seen so many girls go through dating abuse and I'm afraid it can get nasty soon."

The professor nodded his head. "If I see another injury on her, I'll have the police know."

"Great." Jules sighed with relief. "I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"Neither do I."


	10. Nose Job

Ariadne came home to find a gift left in front of her door. Two-dozen fully bloomed red roses lay perfect as any flower.

_Ariadne,_

_I'm very sorry. Get better soon._

_Love Jean_

She sighed and brought them inside. In no mood to put them in a vase, Ariadne tossed them aside and sat down. In an hour she's have to go to the theater but she was very tired. She turned over and lay on the couch ready to relax for a moment.

The peace was killed almost immediately when her phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Bonjour Cherie." Said Jean.

"Hey." Her tone was like a flame burning out into air. "How are you?"

"Did you go to your apartment yet?"

"Yes, I'm there right now. Thanks for the roses, that was nice of you."

"I feel really guilty about it still." He said. "I want to give myself a black eye."

Ariadne shook her head. "No, don't do that. There's no need to worry because everyone thinks it was caused by a careless construction move."

"That's a relief. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I was hurting you."

"Your a little too late." She told him. "Jules questioned me today. She thinks it'll get worse."

"The girl I see around you with 'de red hair?"

"She thinks I'm in trouble."

Jean laughed over the phone. "At least she show's concern for you. That mean's she cares."

"But she was making such a big deal out of it, I mean it was an accident and she doesn't know that you did it but she's acting like a bodyguard."

"Don't worry about her." Said Jean. "She'll calm down once your eye heals."

"Here's hoping." Said Ariadne. "I need to rest. I have to build a sculpture in a bit."

"I love you."

"What?" The three words hit her like a nuclear missile.

"I'm sorry, was that too soon?"

She was afraid to hurt his feelings. "No. Two weeks isn't too soon. I'll see you later." Ariadne hung up and tossed the phone away. Why didn't she say the same thing? Did she hurt him by hanging up? The stress levels were rising like temperatures in Arizona.

Jules left Miles's lecture hall and proceeded through the building to walk to class. She checked her phone to see if Ariadne sent her anything and was disgusted when she didn't.

"Hey Red!"

Jules turned around like an angry bull to see Jean himself standing there.

"It's you." Jules rolled her eyes. "Actually, I need to talk to you."

"That's funny; I need to talk to you." Jean slithered over to her like a serial killer ready to pounce.

"Then it's a good thing we've found each other." Jules was happy to show how sarcastic she was.

"I'll get to the point since it look's like you have to be somewhere." Jean's tongue hustled. "You can't see Ariadne again."

"Excuse me?" Jules spat calmly.

"She's mine now. I'm 'de only family she has."

Jules pushed her hair behind her ear and laughed. "I've known her for twenty years. I'm not letting her go just because she's been with you for two weeks. Now explain her black eye to me."

"She has a black eye?" Jean asked dramatically. "Of dear, no! That's terrible!"

"You're the one who did it!" Jules snapped.

"And what proof do you have?" Jean questioned confidently.

"The fact that she's denying it." The Ginger sneered. "She's defending you because she's scared of you!"

"She is not scared of me."

"You call her fifty times a day telling her how perfect she is! It's creeping her out and making her nervous."

"She didn't tell me that." Said Jean defensively.

"Because she's scared!" Jules exclaimed again. "I know because I've seen other people go through it!"

"Well I have no intention of scarring her." Said Jean picking at a hangnail. "Since you told me, I won't text her as much."

"I don't want you talking to her. At all."

"That would be very hard to do." He said. "I can't have a girlfriend I can't talk to."

"Believe me, she will not be your girlfriend much longer." Jules snorted. "And if she goes back to drugs and cutting and being Goth, I'm not going to blame her. I'm going to blame you. If I see another dent on her and I'll put you through a meat grinder!" With that, the chief trotted off. A distance away, she stuck up her hand and flipped him off.

"Bitch." He muttered.

Alone but surrounded by a lot of people, Ariadne was backstage at the theater making last minute changes to a statue. It was for the garden set where Meg sang her famous song and Aphrodite was the appropriate god to display on stage. She was clipping a few bumps off her dress when someone walked in.

"You know, a statue of the Goddess Ariadne would be nicer." Jean put his arms around her waist and leaned his chin into her shoulder.

"I thought you weren't working today." She said, continuing to adjust the statue.

"I'm not." Jean kissed her shoulder. "I'm here to see you."

"Isn't there a rule that if you don't have a job to do then don't show up?" Ariadne knew that at a lot of theaters had that role and the one she was in would most likely too.

"No one knows I'm here." Said Jean. "I'm like a ninja." He jumped into a corny ninja pose.

"Yeah, a ninja with a Spongebob scarf, a turtleneck and tight pants." Ariadne chuckled.

"Are you almost finished?" he asked looking at the sculpture.

"I'll be done by the end of the day." Said Ariadne. "And then I have to go home to study. Why?"

"I was hoping we could do something." He said. "You must have some free time."

"I'm afraid I don't." Ariadne sighed. "I have a lot of homework and the doctor says I need to go to bed sooner. I've been having a little trouble falling asleep."

"Then I'll do this now." Before she had time to react, he spun her around and threw her sunglasses across the room.

"Jean, what the hell-" the actor mashed his lips into the architects blowing in his aftertaste of coffee into her throat. Her reaction was immediately to push him off and run but his grip on her was stronger than before. Ariadne had the opportunity for one second to yell 'Stop!' and she did with such fierceness that Jean pulled back with a surprised look on his face.

"What did you say?" his voice was angry.

"I am not ready for that and I've told you so many times before to take things slow! I'm already stressed out enough!"

Jean looked forward at her trying to hide the light color in his cheeks.

"Maybe no one had told you 'dis." He started. "But Jean always get's 'is way."

"Well not this time!" Ariadne snapped. "I'm done."

"That's not how the game is played Cherie." He purred.

"Well I'm going to cheat!" Ariadne shot back. "Don't call me anymore, don't text me, don't talk to me!"

Jean breathed heavily as Ariadne starred him down venomously. His action drastically surprised her, hitting her like a bullet. Ariadne fell to the floor when he pounded his knuckles onto her nose. Her nasal bone snapped to the left as blood snuck out. A loud clash was heard and when she looked up, Jean was gone. The Aphrodite statue was scattered on the floor.


	11. First Nightmare

Listening to Carmen's hit tune "Cinderella" made Ariadne realize how dangerous her relationship with Jean was. She heard her singing, _'Run Cinderella, before the clock strikes twelve gotta get away.'_

Ariadne thought Jean would be a Prince Charming. He turned out to be more like a brutal stepfather. Jean treated her like a servant rather than a princess. Jules was the fairy godmother trying to help her, and she failed to listen. There was no real life Prince Charming.

She looked at her bloody face in the mirror, ashamed of her appearance. Ariadne took two tampons and slowly plugged her nose with them. It looked ridiculous and was quite painful but at least the cotton absorbed the blood. After washing it, while hissing a lot to reduce the discomfort, she saw her nose was turned to the left forty-five degrees. If it grew when she lied, it would extend to the left. Despite the fact that she seriously needed to see a doctor, Ariadne was afraid.

"Listen to me." Arthur's illusion began, suddenly standing beside her. "You need to speak up."

Ariadne nodded her head. "I'm going to. Sometime tomorrow."

"Do it now." He demanded. "Call Miles."

"It's late." She sighed shaking her head. "I don't want to wake him."

"For you, he'll do anything. You're his best student." Arthur didn't touch her like he would sometimes.

"I know."

"Why else would he choose you to be the architect of dreams?" he asked.

Ariadnes head turned toward him, blinking in surprise. "Your right." She left the room and headed to the kitchen to use the phone. Strangely, when she picked it up, the line was disconnected. Trying her cell phone, she had the same problem. "Guess I'll have to walk."

Proceeding to her bedroom, she picked up a black hooded sweatshirt and threw it on, slinging the hood over her head. Her monkey slippers kicked off and she replaced them with a pair of running shoes that she hardly used.

When she got to the door, Ariadne felt very unsure about leaving. Why was the line down? Usually she would assume it was a problem in all the apartments but with her recent issues with Jean, maybe hers was the only one with dead phones. What if he was in the apartment waiting to pounce? Ariadne wasted no time heading out the door after wondering that.

The Parisian streets at night were always beautiful; But not this time. They were groggy and dull like a forest in a scary movie. No people or cars were in sight. It was as if she was the only person living in the entire city. Walking forward, she hugged her arms around herself to retain warmth.

Ariadne walked for what felt like hours to where she thought Miles' house was. At the end, she was back at her own apartment.

"What the hell?" Ariadne reached into her pocket to find her bishop but couldn't feel it anywhere. When her head reached back up, a hooded figure stood in front of her, a knife glistening in his hand.

"Thought you could run from me bitch?"

Ariadne backed away in disbelief, panting, ready to let out a scream. It echoed through the buildings but nothing seemed to react. She turned around and ran as fast as she could.

No sound of the man chasing her had been traced but she sprinted forward and turned left to skim through two houses very closely to one another. When her body got through the crack, she saw a neighborhood of small houses. Rain poured from the sky.

This wasn't Paris. She could tell right away because she was standing on a sandy beach. Ariadne was home in Parry Sound but this time wasn't too happy about it.

When she looked forward, she saw a small white house with a birch tree on the front lawn. Hanging off that birch tree was a tire swing.

There was a child sitting on the swing crying. Ariadne looked around to see they were the only people around. Cautiously, she went over to the girl. She couldn't see much from behind because the child was wearing a red hood and jean shorts. Her cries grew louder as Ariadne got closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked with as much sympathy as she could muster. The child stopped crying. Ariadne found herself in sheer horror when the child turned around.

First off, it wasn't a child. It was a fourteen-year-old girl. Wet eyeliner and mascara flowed down her cheeks like two streams of tar. On both eyebrows were piercings and on her lower lip was a hoop. There was a stud on her nose and several on each ear. The sweatshirt said "Camp Kodiak" which is where Ariadne and Jules would go to camp.

The girl was _her._

"My mother's dead, my father beats me, and I'm a fucking wreck!" she cried. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"I-I'm sorry." Ariadne stuttered. "Believe me, I know how it feels."

"No you don't!" the projection roared. "Nobody understands me!" She took out a cigarette and lit it. "You used to but not anymore! Now you moved on and are Miss Happy-Go-Lucky with a scarf collection!"

"I left you behind because you were killing me!" Ariadne cried, tears coming out her eyes. "I almost died once because of you!"

"Leaving me behind won't keep you safe." Said the projection after sucking in some tobacco. "He's coming."

"You mean Jean?"

"Who the fuck else?" The projection hissed. "Yeah him! He's going to kill you whether you turn back into me or not!"

Ariadne shook her head. "I won't let that happen."

"Well here's your chance." The projection chuckled.

Ariadne was pulled into a cold embrace. A knife shined in front of her eyes.

"No!"

Bursting out of bed, Ariadne felt real pain in her throat where Jean had slit it. Heavy breathing became heartbreaking sobs and she lay back down and cried.


	12. Hercules Gets Cut

No more damsel-in-distress games. She had enough. Ariadne got ready for class in a rush, adrenaline pumping as she anticipated the event happening afterwards.

"I'm dumping Jean after class." Ariadne told Jules over the phone. "And you're coming with me. I'm doing it in front of everyone."

In class, Ariadne took notes and listened closely to Miles so time would fly by. With five minutes left, a red drip hit her notepad as she was sketching. Something was coming out her nose. Ariadne's immediate action was to cover her nostrils with her scarf. Unfortunately, the scarf that day was white and the blood stained through it.

"Eh… Ariadne, your nose." Bernie tapped her shoulder.

"Yes, I know that." Ariadne whispered harshly. She stood up and left the lecture hall to wash up. In the girl's bathroom, Ariadne put a tampon into the bleeding nostril and was surprised to see that in reality it sucked all the blood in.

"Ariadne." She pulled the tampon out of her nose and turned to see one of her female classmates. "Miles wants to talk to you… did you put that up your nose?" she sounded disgusted.

"Yeah, it works. You never saw _She's The Man_?"

The girl shook her head.

"Good movie. Anyway, I'll be there in a moment."

Ariadne returned to the lecture hall to see Miles sitting at his desk, his hands folded.

"I know what you want to talk about." She began with a sigh.

"Then explain to me the series of injuries you've been getting." He said.

Ariadne gulped. "Jean did it."

"I see…" Miles shook his head in pity. "Did you leave him?"

"I tried to dump him but he thought it wasn't my choice."

"Oh dear…"

"Jules and I are going over to the theater where I'm going to tell him one last time."

"Ariadne, I believe this is more serious than a bad relationship."

"What do you mean?"

"If you break up with him, what makes you think that will stop him from trying to contact you?" Miles pointed out. "Many times, situations like this become worse."

"I'm still going to do it."

"I'm not saying you should stay with him, defiantly let him go. But you need to do more than that."

"Are you suggesting I file a restraining order?"

An invisible light bulb above Miles's head lit like a star. "That would work just fine. Though it takes a while to come into play."

"Whatever it takes." Said Ariadne unwaveringly. "I'll even move out if I have to."

"You can stay with me. There's another bedroom."

Ariadne shook her head. "That's nice but…"

"That wasn't an offer." Said Miles strictly. "It's for your own safety."

"I guess I'll have to pack." A light tap was heard on the door. Ariadne turned her head to see Jules. "I have to go."

"Good luck." Miles wished. Ariadne was already scared as if he added, 'Your gonna need it'.

"So your gonna dump him in front of everyone?" Jules asked as they were leaving Ariadne's college. "I love it."

"He disserves everything he has coming to him!" Ariadne sneered. "I'm even filing a restraining order and moving out."

"Where are you gonna live?"

"With Miles." Said Ariadne as they stepped through the theater doors. The girls stomped onto the stage without permission. "Where's Jean?" Ariadne demanded that the crew-member point her in the right direction. He warned her that Jean was undressing but the girls proceeded to the men's dressing room anyway. Jules kicked the door open and they entered into a studio of half naked men in Greek costumes.

"Talk about a Trojan." Jules chucked.

Jean got off his makeup chair after hearing a guy yell, "You can't be in here!"

"Yes we can!" Jules snapped.

"Cherie, what is it?" Jean asked innocently.

"Don't fucking 'Cherie' me!" Ariadne snapped. Jean was taken slightly aback. "You can't call me that anymore because were finished! I told you yesterday, and I will tell you again; were though!"

A few guys in the room snickered and whistled.

"Eh, now that your single again-" one guy started.

"Fuck no!" said Jules. "She's not dating any of you deush-bags."

"You can't be serious." Said Jean.

"Things are always serious when going to court is involved."

"Your suing me?"

"She'll see you in court!" Jules finished. "Let's go girl." Ariadne flipped off Jean the same way Jules would before walking out.

The next stop was the City Hall. Ariadne requested a restraining order form and filled it up thoroughly with information. The woman at the desk said she could see a judge in three weeks.

"Can't you do it sooner?" Ariadne asked.

"I'm sorry madam. I know you're scared but things like these take time."

Ariadne growled in frustration before leaving the building. At Miles's house, she was unpacking her clothes in her new room when a knock was heard.

"Come in."

Miles stepped in with a cordless phone in his hand. "Someone's on the phone for you."

"Who?" Ariadne asked. Miles just smiled and handed her the phone. "Hello?"

"Did think I'd call you, did you?" The voice on the other line belonged to Cobb. Ariadne's mood seemed to suddenly brighten as she fell on the bed.

"Hi Cobb. How are the kids?"

"They're great, but that's not what I called you for."

"Miles told you about what happened, didn't he?" she rolled over and lay on her stomach.

"I'm impressed." Said Cobb. "You escaped."

"It wasn't easy." Said Ariadne. "My friend helped me through it and I owe her so much."

"After Miles told me, I wanted to know that you were ok."

"Well I'm fine. I filed for a restraining order and I don't live at my place anymore. So did you hear from any of the guys?"

"I think Eames and Yusuf are here. Arthur is working."

"Surprise, surprise." Said Ariadne sarcastically. "Your not going to tell him about this are you?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, I assume that since he's a point man, it would be his job to protect everyone who was on the team, including me. I don't want him flying all the way to Paris for nothing."

"Arthur's in England now actually. He said he's visiting his sister, but you know he's not."

"Of course." Ariadne chuckled. "I'm about to fall asleep now."

"Before you go," said Cobb. "Did you dream recently?"

Ariadne looked back on the nightmare. Seeing her dark teenage image and the feeling of her throat slit haunted her again.

"No. I'm not."

"You might get some nightmares."

"Believe me, I've been there."


	13. Just A Dream

Ariadne sent Jules to talk to Monsieur. She said that she was no longer interested in set construction, or his theater for that matter. In her situation, he understood. In fact, Jean got cut from the play even though it put the production in more jeopardy.

For three weeks, she anticipated the day that Jean could no longer see her. It felt like she was in a dream, like she was waiting three years. Ariadne wouldn't leave Miles's house except for when she had to go to school. She always had an escort, usually Jules.

Her nose was relocated with some minor surgery and the black eye faded away. It made her a little less afraid to show her face in public. A lot of people praised her for her bravery and encouraged her to stay strong. She received a lot of flowers and gifts.

Miles announced in class the final project and Ariadne was already starting on it. The assignment was to build a whole city with houses, churches, restaurants and everything else. She was sketching up a church when a figure appeared.

"Impressive as always." She spun around in her chair in surprise.

"Oh God Arthur!" she gasped, clutching her heart.

"I didn't mean to frighten you." He apologized.

"How did you find me?" He didn't have to answer her. She felt foolish asking him that. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you." He said, pulling up a chair. "Cobb told me about your boyfriend incident."

"Why?" Ariadne complained. "I told him not too!"

"He cares about you." Arthur reminded her.

"So did you come here to be my bodyguard?" she asked, a little appalled at the idea.

"No." His answer surprised her. "I came here to see you."

Ariadne stood up and walked across the room, shaking her head. "I don't understand." She looked out the window to view the Eiffel Tower, sparking in the night.

"I tried not to come but I couldn't stop myself."

"Why though? If your not here to protect me or offer me another job, then…"

"You need someone to talk too." He said.

"Have you been abused by a partner before?"

"No."

"Then you don't know what it's like." Her voice started to shake. "Mal taunted me into doing this. She asked me if I knew what it was like to be a lover. To be half a whole." She swallowed. "I wanted to answer her so bad, I didn't even think twice before saying yes to Jean."

"You shouldn't let her get to you." Said Arthur strictly.

"You can't stop yourself from thinking!" she snapped. "And everything started out like a fairy tale but then he started to treat me like a doll! And to think this could lead to the end of my life…"

Arthur placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "He is the past. You have so much to look forward to and he doesn't have to be in the way. College will be over soon and you'll be out designing real buildings."

"It's humiliating..." Tears squeezed out of her eyes.

"No one's laughing at you." He said.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was." Said Ariadne coldly.

"Don't bother with her." Said Arthur coming around to face her. Ariadne turned her head away causing him to tip her chin up. "Look at me. Your ok."

His brown eyes beamed into hers for the longest time. Her heart was whirling in her chest. Ariadne saw this in all of the movies and braced herself. His eyes were saying, "Quick. Give me a kiss."

Ariadne found her hands on his chest as he pulled her hair back. Arthur's lips journeyed over to hers and as sparks would fly, the doorbell dinged.

"I'm sorry." She pulled away. "I really need to work." Ariadne sat back down at her desk. The doorbell continued to go off.

She ignored it and continued working. It felt like she was a child again, not allowed to open doors to strangers. Even with her head turned away, the doorbell kept going off.

Ariadne sighed and stood up. "Who is it?" she asked leaning on the door.

"It's Miles. I forgot my house keys."

Ariadne opened the door but didn't see Miles. The person outside shoved her to the ground and slammed the door. Immediately, she tried to get up to run. The man grabbed her ankles and she fell to the floor again.

"Get off me!" she screamed. "Let me go!"

The man used his knees to hold her legs down and pinned her wrists to the carpet. Ariadne squirmed, enraged at herself for falling for Jean's trick.

"Arthur please!" she begged now in sobs. Her Adam's apple tried to break out of her neck. "Arthur!"

"Who's Arthur?" Jean asked demanding an answer. "Well?"

Ariadne turned to head towards the last place she saw him but he was nowhere.

"It appears my prize need's to be punished." He purred. Jean forced her to stand up and locked an arm securely around her. Ariadne struggled, fought and screamed to get him off her. "If you don't shut up, I'll kill you right on the spot!" A switchblade was held against her throat. "Now don't make a sound."

He pulled her outside and pushed her into the back seat of his car.

"Please don't do this!" Ariadne begged. "I swear I won't tell!"

From the passenger seat, Jean took out a duffle bag and zipped it open. When Ariadne tried to sit up, he slammed her back down pulling her arms behind her back. Jean took out a role of ductape and constricted it around her wrists. Ariadne's bones grinded against one another.

"Please stop, that hurts!"

"Shut up you bitch!" Jean hit her in the back of the head. "Your mine now. Therefore, you have no permission to speak unless I say so!" He moved over to her ankles and started to fuse them together. "And once we get to our house, you're going to tell me who this Arthur son-of-a-bitch is!" Jean put more tape around her shins, knees and thighs then forced her to sit up by yanking her hair. The rest of the tape coiled around her chest, joining her forearms to her torso and bulging her breasts out.

"Now, I'm gonna let you pick your gag." He said. "I've got tape and rags. Which do you prefer?"

Maybe if she stayed quiet he wouldn't bother with a gag. He sighed.

"Rags it is then."

Jean took out a dirty rag. "Open your mouth."

Ariadne looked away from him, shaking her head. She felt like a silver snake had caught her and was trying to suffocate her. Impatiently, Jean plugged her nose. As his ex opened her mouth to breathe, he stuffed her mouth with the rag and took another to cleave gag her.

"There, your all mine now bitch." He sneered. "And you owe me lots of time."

Ariadne shook her head rapidly as Jean made her lay on her back. The gag muffled her pleas for mercy as he reached for the button of her jeans. He started to unzip his pants.

Ariadne screamed bloody murder, shooting up from her bed. Looking around, she was alone in the dark. The clock was marked at three in the morning. She heard footsteps pounding toward the door. Miles shot in like a policeman.

"What is it?" he asked. "What happened?" Ariadne shook her head with humiliation. "You're getting those nightmares now." She nodded, holding back tears.

"Why can't they just lock him up?" she asked, sobbing between her words. "Why do I have to be so scared?"

Miles sat beside her and brought her into his arms. "It was a terrible nightmare. I promise you it will never happen in reality. Tomorrow, the judge will confirm the restraining order and you will be safe again." For several minutes, he let her cry.

"But what if it doesn't work?"

Miles got up and ventured to his room. He came back with a wristwatch.

"This was given to me by Arthur, in case of an emergency." He explained. "You need it more than me."

"What does it do?" she asked while putting it on.

"In a time of need, push the green button on the left side. Arthur will be contacted and he will reach you. He'll ask what the problem is and he'll be able to find you."

"Oh…" She let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. But hopefully I won't use it."


	14. Nap Time

Ariadne stomped out of the courtroom furiously. Jules caught up with her nervously.

"I can not believe that judge!" she said with frustration. "He confirms the restraining order but he doesn't give Jean a single minute in jail!"

"He got a warning." Said Jules. "If he comes five-hundred feet within you, they're going to lock his ass in for a long time."

"I just don't think that's good enough." Said Ariadne. Jules sighed and grabbed her friend's shoulders.

"Your fine. Your ok, and your safe." Jules reminded her. "He doesn't even know where you live and he's not allowed in the architecture school. In fact, he got kicked out of the musical, and he was the star! No one's going to let him near you."

Ariadne breathed heavily. "I'm just so mad."

"I'm even more mad at him." Jules argued.

"I'm so mad at myself." She snapped. "For saying yes."

"No, it's my fault." Jules protested. "I told you to get back in the game. I never imagined you striking out though."

"But I let him get away. I defended him and lied to everyone so he wouldn't be called a jerk."

"Ari, let me tell you something about the male species." Jules began to lecture. "There are two types of males; boy's and men. They're not contrasted by age and size but based on how mature and respectful they are. You can't just identify a boy from a man in front of you. A twelve-year-old can be more mature than forty-year-old."

"So I should know the guys better."

"You did start out a little fast." Said Jules. "I mean, compare Tiger Woods to Zac Efron. Who's the man?"

"Zac Efron."

"Though I hope he really stopped dating that bitch."

Ariadne chuckled. "You've always hated her."

"So have you!" The girls walked down the street with their arms around each other's shoulders, giggling.

Jules left Ariadne when she reached Miles's house. Right as the Ginger disappeared, Ariadne started to worry again. She assumed at working on the project would get her mind off of everything.

While drawing the hotel, she was temped to add Penrose steps and endless stairwells. A few ideas came up about opening walls and upside down houses.

I need to stay in reality. Ariadne reminded herself. Reality. She got up and went to her bedroom to get her bishop. Returning to the work desk, Ariadne tipped it at least twenty times to remind herself to stay true to what's real.

An hour later, she ran out of ideas for the hotel. She designed the suites, the lobby, the restaurant and the pool but she had no idea what kind of windows to use. "I need coffee." She told herself. Ariadne proceeded into the kitchen to find some but Miles didn't have any. The architect sighed and decided to go out for some.

She packed her sack with her sketches, pencils, wallet, cellphone and left a note for Miles incase if he returned early.

Miles,

Went out for some coffee.

Ariadne

She looked at the watch on her wrist wondering if she really needed it. It sounded silly to get a point man involved in some dating drama. Besides, there would be other people at the shop and on the streets. Jean wouldn't dare try to touch her in front of witnesses.

But this watch was a symbol of safety to her. She couldn't take it off when Jean was still loose.

At the coffee house, Ariadne starred into her coffee, wondering if the restraining order would really keep Jean away. She imagined his rage when he received the document. He might have tried to beat the policeman at the door. Maybe he was at her old apartment right at that second ripping everything off the walls searching for her. She expected him to attempt to communicate with her in some way. After all, he didn't have to be within five hundred feet of her to make her feel unsafe. It was a good thing she moved in with Miles for the time being.

She sighed and put her sack down on her chair to reserve the table. A quick trip to the restroom would relieve her, at least she hoped. When she got into the stall, her stomach churned and had the sudden urge to erupt. At the next moment, her head was hanging above the toilet. Ariadne was under so much emotional stress lately and even when it was illegal for Jean to confront her, she feared it would only fuel his torch.

Back in the shop, Jean himself walked in and saw his ex-girlfriends sack sitting around. Immediately, he assumed the coffee in the cup was hers. Jean looked around the shop like a kid looking both ways before crossing the street. Out of his pocket, came a box of dissolvable sleeping pills. He plopped one in her drink, stirred it and left the shop.

She came out of the bathroom right as he was gone and sat back down. It probably wasn't a very good idea to have a hot coffee after throwing up, but she was thirsty and needed ideas for her project. Besides, it hasn't been touched at all and it would have probably been cold. Ariadne gulped down the coffee and afterwards, found herself coughing severely. She put her hand up to let people looking at her know that she would be fine. When the coughs stopped, Ariadne decided to go back to Miles' house.

Her sack felt like a heavy weight as the drug in her coffee came into play. She saw everything become darker like the day was being fast-forwarded through to night. It felt like she had too much to drink at a club. Ariadne's eyes kept trying to shut on her as her legs stopped working like a car out of gas. The grumble of thunder and the clattering rain didn't help much either.

She couldn't see where she was going. Her hands were out in front of her feeling the walls. What she didn't know was that she was heading for an alley. Her clothes were drenched as she reached the end. Finally, Ariadne couldn't take it anymore. She lay down before she had the chance to faint.

Unfortunately, the person who found her was the one man who wasn't supposed to come near her. Jean smirked with pride as he hoisted her into his arms.

"I told you Cheri," He bragged. "I always get what I want."


	15. Hades and Persephone

A claustrophobic would have a heart attack. A nyctophobic would scream and cry. The area she was placed was both dark and crammed. It was an hour or so later when Ariadne awoke to realize she was in huge trouble. The feeling of her being pulled down a road at high speeds immediately indicated to her that she was in the trunk of his car. Every time Jean hit a pothole, she would pounce up and hit her head.

"Ah!" she muttered in pain and pressed her fingers down on her forehead. With the other arm, she felt around the space to see if she could find anything. One thing she knew was that every smart kidnapper would take his victim's supplies away. Her sack must have been in the back seat.

Time for plan B. She hit her wrist to use the watch but then growled in anger at herself. She left the watch in her sack! What if Jean threw everything out? God damn it! Ariadne started crying to herself, wondering how she could have let this happened.

_I should have stayed home! I should have called Jules! _The only thing she could do now was scream, like in the movies. No one on the road would by miracle hear her, pull over Jean's car and force him to open the trunk. Screaming and banging would be useless and drain out any energy she still had.

For once, she wanted to see an illusion appear, to tell her she would be fine. No one showed up. In defeat, she lay back down under the blanket Jean draped over her and cried. At each bump, she would put her hands up to push off the door. The tactic wasn't very effective because she'd still hit her head on the floor.

Then something inside her churned. The drug must have made her stomach angry because she wasn't feeling well at all.

Jeans car pulled into a driveway and stopped. Ariadne could hear him slamming the car door and coming her way. The sunlight blasted into her eyes like a flood breaking a wall. She coughed continuously until peaking her head out to vomit.

"You weren't supposed to do that." He said. "But you weren't supposed to wake up either."

To her horror, he was holding a wet rag. Ariadne shook her head and tried to hide in the trunk like a shy animal. Jean leaped in and forced the rag against her face. He added more pressure as she kicked and whimpered and finally got off when she was back down.

Jean pulled her out into the daylight to see his family's summer mansion. No one would be home since he was the only person in the family with the keys. "Home sweet home Cherie. I thought you'd like it."

Ariadne woke up to believing she was in Marie Antoinette's chamber. There were pink flowers on the bed and bordering the wall. On the ceiling were carved golden decorations. In fact, every spot had a touch of gold somewhere. Even the picket fence guarding the bed was solid gold. Bright crystals hung from the ceiling in front of the bed. Over the bed was a canopy with curtains for privacy.

She was surprised that Jean hadn't restrained her in anyway; there was no tape or rope on her. Ariadne thought he would undress her and tie her up somewhere. She got of the bed to see if there was a way out. The door to the right linked to a bathroom about as luxurious as the bedroom. The door in front was locked. The double doors on the left lead to a balcony with a view of the sea.

Ariadne was on the top story of the house. The sea below looked like a play set. She watched the waves lash onto the rocks. A flock of seagulls flew by in a V, free as always. This made her angry enough to think of a solution. It was dangerous, but she believed it was worth the risk.

After taking a deep breath, Ariadne climbed onto the balcony. She kept telling herself that if she calmed her muscles down, the landing wouldn't hurt. Plus, she'd land in water… most likely. The sharp rocks on the bottom made her pull back a little. A voice inside her head told her to jump.

"What the fuck are you doing?" That French accent roared. Ariadne was yanked away from the balcony by the waist and thrown onto the bed. That reminded her of the times her father would grab her and throw her. She backed away from him, tears coming back to her eyes. "You want to get impaled by a rock?"

"Why couldn't you just stay away?" she asked angrily. "Why did you have to go this far?"

Jean chuckled evilly and pushed her down, pinning her wrists to the bedding. "No man can stay away." Ariadne turned her head and sobbed as Jean kissed her temple. His lips were like cigarette ash; they burned her skin. They went down from her cheek to her neck like shots of venom.

Her eyes widened when she felt him unbuttoning her shirt. "Please stop!" she screamed. "Don't do that please!"

Jean looked up. "Your gonna have to get used to it Cherie." He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "If I have to discipline you then I will. So I advise you to be a good girl."

Ariadne shook her head. "You can't just take people against their will." She told him.

"I just did!" he barked. "And if you continue to fight me, I will strap you to the bed! The more you resist, the more restraints you get. And I really would love to see you wearing a gag."

Ariadne spat in his face. "Go to Hell." Her words sneered coldly like winter mist. She expected him to get angrier, but instead, he just wiped her saliva away.

"Do you know the story about Persephone, the Goddess of Innocence?" He asked. Confused at his question, Ariadne nodded. "She was kidnapped by Hades and made into his queen. She was upset with him at first but then guess what? She fell in love with him."

"Is that what you think what'll happen?" She questioned. "It doesn't work that way. You can't tell a person to love you."

Jean sighed and got up. "I really don't give a fuck if you're happy. Because I'm Hades here bitch! It's my castle!" He stood up to leave. "I'll get your dinner for you." Ariadne buttoned up her shirt, disgusted at him.

"I don't trust you." She said. "You're going to spike my drink."

Jean turned around laughing. "You are a smart girl. Since you think I would, you can come down to the kitchen. But if you try to run, I'll send you back up here with nothing."

"Fine." She said walking past him. "I won't run."

_Not yet at least._


	16. A Cry For Help

"I'm going to give you the rules and I'll only tell you them once. You break any of these rules and you'll be punished." Jean pulled Ariadne into the big kitchen by the arm.

"What do you mean by, 'punish'?"

"I'll beat the shit out of you with a belt. Now sit." Jean pushed her onto a kitchen chair by the shoulder and unbuckled his belt.

"What are you doing?" she asked insecurely, slowly rising from the seat.

"I'm not going to rape you." He pushed her back down and walked behind her. The belt snaked over her waist and buckled in the back of the chair so she couldn't stand up.

"Is all of this really necessary?" Ariadne asked, tugging at the belt.

"You're a prisoner, so yes." Jean pulled the chair in. "Now the house rules; you are to eat only when I say so, you cannot leave your room unless your with me, and you cannot leave the house."

"Is that it?" she asked. "Three rules?"

"You cannot contact anyone." He added. "From now on, I'm your only friend. I will make more rules if I find them necessary. So what do you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." She said sternly.

"Did you not listen to me?" Jean snapped. "The first rule!"

"I know. But I'm not hungry now."

Jean sighed and dropped his head. "You need to eat."

"I had a big breakfast before court." She said. "I'm not in the mood for anything."

"You're going to eat!" He spat. "It's dinner time you know."

"I'd rather go to bed without dinner."

Jean rolled his eyes and opened the refrigerator. "Frozen TV dinner it is then."

"Did you not hear me?" Ariadne asked in frustration. "I don't want anything."

"That's too fucking bad!" Jean roared. "Now your going to fucking eat your dinner and afterwards go right to bed!"

Ariadne blinked in shock. For someone with a baby-face, Jean could really get angry. She stayed silent as the food rotated in the microwave. When it was done, Jean put the beef tips on a plate and placed it down in front of her.

"Now, if I don't see you eating, I'll have no choice but to shove this down your throat. You need your strength."

Ariadne sighed and took the fork. Quickly she started eating, thinking the steak tips weren't bad for a TV dinner. Jean gave her a can of Diet Pepsi to gulp down when she finished.

"To your bedroom. Now." He undid the belt holding her waist and pulled her into her bedroom. "There are pajamas in the drawer over there for you and everything you need to freshen up with is in the bathroom."

She didn't respond to him as he left her alone, locking the door. Looking through the drawer, Ariadne only found a white nightdress with a lace cover-up. She slammed the drawer and figured she'd sleep in the jeans and shirt she had on.

As she sat on the bed, she remembered that she had to somehow find and retrieve the watch. With the door locked and Jean near by, this would be harder than expected.

Maybe he left the sack downstairs? No, he would have definitely taken it to his room. But where was that? Ariadne walked into the bathroom to see if she could find any hints. There was no vent tunnel or windows in the room. Then she remembered something.

In architecture class when Miles covered the chapter on doors, he not only taught his class the basics; he showed them how to pick a lock. All she needed was a bobby pin.

Ariadne rummaged through the cabinets, pushing aside bottles of nail polish and perfume. A small box was hidden behind the hair dryer.

So far, she was on a roll. Now she had to make sure Jean was asleep. This would probably take hours. Looking around the room for a loose tile, she heard Jeans footsteps echo downstairs.

Ariadne paced around the room, fiddling with the bobby pin. When she heard the TV downstairs, she assumed that was her cue. She worked at the lock with the bobby pin in hopes of being able to unlock the door.

Luckily, the door latched open. Ariadne peaked her head out and slowly crawled away, closing the door gently. She saw Jean downstairs sitting on the couch and watching TV with a beer.

She tiptoed to the room at the end of the hall and snuck in. At this point, Ariadne felt like a ninja. Her heart pounded at the thought of two possible outcomes. Ariadne's breathing quickened.

The lights in Jeans room flipped on. The numbers of stage posters were enough to distract anyone. But the sack on the bed was like a giant ruby at the end of a tomb. Immediately she went over and pulled the watch out.

Now to get out. At this moment, Ariadne suspected something bad to happen, like Jean coming in or an alarm of some sort going off. Looking out the door, everything was crystal clear. She turned the lights off and quietly proceeded to her room.

Sighing with relief, she fell into the bed. Pressing the green button, she grew relieved. But then she remembered that Arthur would be responding to her call. Her hands started to shake.

"Miles, what's the emergency?" His voice hit her like lighting. This wasn't the illusion she was used to arguing with or a projection.

"This is Ariadne." She said, her voice shaking. "I need help."

"What happened Ariadne?" Arthur asked.

"I know you'll find this silly and I do too… but I've been kidnapped."

"There's nothing silly about that." Arthur replied with seriousness in his tone.

"Kidnapped by my ex."

Arthur paused. "Your ex kidnapped you?"

"Yes. Look it's a long story but I need someone to find me. I can't get out."

"I'm on my way." He said. "I can track your location if you keep the watch with you at all times."

"I'll do that." She said sighing with relief. "And please hurry."

"I'll be there before you know it." He said. "Stay strong Ariadne."

The light on the screen went out indicating that he disconnected the line.

**New news: Check out my new website. You'll find the link on my profile page.**


	17. Predator and Prey

A red Oldsmobile accelerated down a woodchip trail targeting the subject ahead. It was a woman around twenty-three with matching eyes that matched her hair. She was running for her life, panting and telling herself not to stop. The man in the car was her ex-boyfriend, who had trouble understanding restraining orders.

She wanted to scream for help. The woman knew she would pass out if she yelled. Her heart felt like an overinflated balloon about to burst. Her lungs couldn't keep up with her legs. The woman panicked as the car came closer and ran off the trail to find herself climbing through an obstacle course of tree branches and logs.

Even when her worn out sneakers hit the mud, she kept on moving. The car stopped and she wasted no time listening for the door to shut. Her arms pushed hanging twigs out of her eyes as the man followed her tracks.

"You can't run from me forever, Cherie!" his accent echoed. "No one will find you here but me!"

His ex ignored him and continued to run. She chocked back when her scarf got tangled in a branch. The woman ripped it off and proceeded, more frightened now that he was getting closer. This was just like in the wild, except this time she wasn't the lioness her friends knew her as; she was the zebra. A zebra separated from her herd and taken to a lions pride of one.

It was not to eat her. This lion saw the zebra's stripes differently from the others. She was a black horse with white stripes in his eyes and he was not going to let other's admire her.

The woman found herself at a dead end. She stopped and looked up the stone wall that blocked her. Beyond belief, she was tired and getting dizzy but she didn't want him to find her. She tried to use the little rocks to climb with. Unfortunately it was nothing like the rock climbing at her summer camp.

She kept pulling herself up. When she saw the top, a figure was waiting. An angel to her. "Please…" she wheezed. "Help…" she let out one hand for the suited figure to grab. He just stood where he was like a rock.

Slowly she began slipping. Her hand waved in his eyes begging to be held. It was too late, as she fell off the wall and hit the dirt below. The trees and sky mashed together in her vision until pure night enclosed them.

The lion came forward to his prey and laughed in victory. In his hand was her scarf.

"Oh dear, you're in trouble now."

Ariadne's eyes opened. That was the second nightmare and two too many. The stress overwhelmed her as she laid her head back on the pillow and began sobbing.

Minutes passed as she cried on the pillow when the door started clicking. A very angry looking Jean stomped in, wearing his bathrobe.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he snapped. "I could hear you all the way from my room!"

"I'm sorry." She chocked. "I just had a bad dream."

"A nightmare, eh? Well do I look like your mere to you?"

"No." she replied confused at his question. "You are nothing like my mother."

"Then stop crying like a baby!"

"You acting like my dad!" she shot back before realizing what she had said. Ariadne covered her eyes and continued to weep. "If your going to beat me with a belt, do it on my torso because there are enough welts on my back as it is."

She didn't expect any sympathy from this man but she wanted to send her message strait out.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" she was suddenly confused.

"I shouldn't treat you like this." He said crossing his arms. "You just make it so hard."

"How is it my fault?"

"I need to make sure you stay with me." Jean explained. "I don't want anyone else to have you."

"So your sorry for hitting me? You're sorry for kidnapping me? Are you going to try that every time? Hurt me in some way and just say you're sorry?" She began to ask a stack of questions as she normally would. "Your sorry for being possessive?"

"That's enough!" Jean snapped. "Shut your mouth or I'll chain you up and shove this in your mouth!" Out of his pocket came a thick rubber ball connected to leather straps with buckles on the ends. "I heard these things make the users jaw stretch."

Ariadne wanted to know where he got that and why it was in his pocket but instead she sighed and shut her mouth.

"Good." Jean put the gag back in his pocket. "Now get up. I can't get back to sleep since you've woken me. So now you'll have to do chores."

She got out of bed and stood in front of him. "Ok. What do you want me to do?"

"Get me a bottle of wine and serve me a glass." He ordered. "It's in the kitchen."

Ariadne went down the stairs into the kitchen to see the bottle in the fridge. The green glass was full of fresh wine from his family's vineyard. She took it out and looked around the kitchen for a bottle opener.

During her search, she came across a drug she wasn't familiar with. They were like dissolvable tablets but for sleep. Revenge was the only thing on her mind then.

"You wanna play with fire?" she asked him even though he wasn't in the room. "Then get burned."

Ariadne opened the bottle and snapped a tablet in half, dropping both pieces into the wine. She was surprised at how fast they faded. To make things better, the wine still appeared the way it did before.

"What the hell is taking so long?" Jean called.

"I'm coming!" Ariadne replied, pouring the wine in a glass. She walked out with the glass and handed it to him.

Ariadne then found herself cleaning Jeans room. He wanted everything to be absolutely spotless. His poster frames were to be cleared, his counters were to be dusted and his bed sheets had to be made.

Ariadne tied her hair back in a low ponytail and started spraying the glass over the posters with Windex. It reminded her of the time she used to work at Blockbuster. There was a guy there who was so good at cleaning windows, that people mistook them for open doors. At least twenty people hit the glass one day and she would watch without warning them and say 'Are you ok?' as if she didn't know.

As she wiped the glass over _The Phantom of the Opera_ poster, Ariadne put herself in Christine's position. If she was kidnapped at the same time as the singer, Jean would have most likely made her wear a wedding dress and marry him. The idea of being Jean's wife and living as a homemaker didn't please her so much.

Where's Raoul when you need him?

She was dusting his nightstand when she heard music. It was the song that played whenever Jules called. The phone was singing '_Your making me live now honey. Your making me live_'. Ariadne's eyes rolled into the direction of the phone, which was still in the sack. With slight hesitation she answered it.

"Hi Jules."

"I've called you a million times. Where the hell are you?" the red head asked. "The police are looking everywhere for you. Everyone is worried sick."

Ariadne sighed and swallowed a lump. "I wish I could tell you."

"What's going on?" The architect looked around the room and listened for sounds outside.

"Jean took me."

"That son of a bitch." Jules growled.

"I shouldn't have left the house, I mean I just wanted some coffee and he must have drugged me or something because I was knocked out and woke up in the trunk of his car."

"Oh my God." Jules gasped. "Do you know where you are?"

"No." Ariadne's throat started to clog up. "And I have no way of getting back."

"Cherie!" Ariadne jumped back as Jean's voice came into range.

"He's coming." She told Jules. "If I never see you again Jules, I just want you to know that you're the greatest friend I ever had and I'd be nowhere without you." Ariadne could hear Jules sniffling in the background.

"Please come home."

As the door opened, she slammed the phone shut and threw it back in the sack.

"What did I just see you do?" he asked. Ariadne felt like an angry policeman was confronting her. "Did you just call someone?"

She was surprised that he didn't hide the phone in the first place or even take it off. She assumed that there were not only dumb jocks but dumb thespians too. "No."

"You just did!" he protested.

"The person called me, I didn't even tell her where I was!" she insisted.

"Your terrible liar." He sneered. "Who did you call?"

"Jules called me!" Ariadne repeated. "I mean it."

Jean walked towards her. "I've seen some awful actresses but you make the top of the cake."

"I am not an actress." Said Ariadne insecurely. As Jean came nearer, she turned in the opposite direction and ran out the door. He outran her when she got to the main room. Like a football player, he tackled her down and pressed her against the floor. As she struggled to get up, he flipped her over on her back and pulled her ponytail out.

"You are a dead bitch." Jean hissed putting his knees against her legs.

Where the hell is Arthur? Ariadne wondered. Jean took a hold of both her shoulders and pulled her left shoulder forward, taking the bone out of its place. She screamed bloody murder as she felt at her new swelling lump.

"Stop!" she cried. "Please stop it!"

"No." Jean took the left elbow and bent it sideways, slightly angling the lower arm. Ariadne sobbed for mercy as pain set in her entire arm.

"It hurts!"

"Then you should have fucking obeyed me!" He roared, getting off her legs. Jean moved down to her left leg and examined her knee. Ariadne's eyes widened when she found out what he was going to do.

"No, no, no, no, no!" she screamed as he pushed her knee backwards. The bones literally crunched like breaking wood. Jean looked rather pleased at his work. He didn't know he had that strength. Ariadne however was crying out loud in agony.

"Next time, you obey." He whispered in her ear harshly. Jean left her lying there and went to the kitchen to get his wine. In one gulp, he swallowed all of it. Then he walked back to teach his 'present' a lesson.

Ariadne whimpered as he unzipped his pants. "Anything but that, please!"

His fingers froze. What was happening? He felt dizzy and assumed he was getting drunk. But off a little wine? His legs seemed to shut down like a factory with a power outage.

Jean was down, knocked out on the floor. Ariadne was alone but not to her benefit. He would wake up in an hour's time and then be angry enough to rape her for sure. She sobbed to herself and tried to use the right side of her body to crawl out the door.

Outside, she could hear a car pulling in. Ariadne fell back onto the floor as her arm and leg ached. The door opened but she could barely see a thing.

The moment Arthur saw her on the floor he wasted no time running to her side. He checked her pulse, causing her to open her eyes and look up at him. "My God…" he looked at her injured figure. Her left arm was entirely red and swelling up in two locations. "You're going to be ok." He assured her, taking her right hand.

Ariadne felt a sense of warmth when his hand embraced hers.

"Can you hear me Ariadne?" She nodded weakly. "I'm going to be very careful but I need you to stay strong for me." Ariadne nodded again. She soon felt herself being lifted in the air and put against his chest. "I got you." Arthur had a firm grip on her as he carried her out of the house.


	18. The Two Guardian Angels

Arthur had prepared for this rescue mission as if he did it as often as his Point Man duty. His car had the air blasting as he placed her in the passenger seat. Her forehead was coated in hot sweat when he felt it.

"Here..." he had ice cold water prepared in a huge bottle. Ariadne sucked water out of it like a bloodthirsty vampire.

"Hang in there, I'll get you to the hospital in no time."

Arthur was baffled by the sight before him. How could someone do such a cruel deed to an innocent woman? He wanted to run back in and kill Jean but since Ariadne needed help immediately, he decided to do the act later.

He drove several miles over the speed limit. Usually, he would play classical music but his radio was mute. The only thing that concerned him was getting Ariadne some aid, and fast.

She was on the ridge of passing out as Arthur picked her up again and ran like the Roadrunner to the hospital's emergency doors.

Right as they stepped in, nurses were swarming all over them. Ariadne felt like a child with separation anxiety as Arthur put her down on a gurney.

She thought she would never see him again as they changed her clothes and prepped her for surgery. Ariadne stopped crying after they gave her some pain relievers but her arm still stung like a hundred bees pricked it.

"You'll be put under soon for surgery, Sweetie." said the older curvier nurse. "Would you like to see your friend first?"

"Yes please." Ariadne nodded weakly. Right then, all she wanted to do was get some answers from him. She waited for a few moments before Arthur walked in. He remained calm but she could see in his eyes how worried he was.

"I'm glad you called." he started. "I got so scared."

"You? Scared?" Ariadne's eyebrows rose. "I'm the one who was scared. I'm still scared!"

"Look at me," he ordered. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I got nightmares of my worst fears coming to life!" she snapped. "One of them almost happened in real life Arthur!"

"It's normal to have nightmares after your first assignment." he told her.

"So did you ever dream of a sadistic girlfriend trying to destroy you?" she had no courage to say rape. "And you left that lunatic laying there!"

"I'll take care of him. He's not coming near you."

"He still can though through my dreams."

"Those are dreams," he said. "You'll always wake up and see that you're fine."

"They just feel so real," she said. "And I feel like I'm still asleep. And what if I get another one during the surgery?" Ariadne asked.

"Let me tell you about the nightmares after I had after my first assignment." Arthur said. "I had nightmares that Nash, the architect you replaced, was a drag queen at the Moulin Rouge."

"I don't even know what the guy looks like and I have a bad picture in my head."

"Well he wasn't a favorite of the ladies."

"What happened to him?"

"He made a mistake during a task and Cobol took him. I don't know what they did to him though."

"What was he like?"

"He was an asshole." said Arthur. "I couldn't trust him."

"Oh..."

"When they give you the anesthesia, I want you to think of something you love. Don't think about that guy because he's not even worth thinking of... Think about elephants if you have to."

"Elephants?" Ariadne chuckled. "Where did that come from?"

"It's a long story." he said. "But can you do that for me?"

Ariadne looked around the room and replied by nodding. "I'll definitely try."

Before the surgery, Ariadne thought of the Eiffel Tower. To her, the building was made in anticipation of her birth. That's why it was shaped like an A.

She was sitting at a table for two, looking out the window of the tower itself. Her hair was up in a bun and a black dress covered her body. A plate of caviar was in front of her. Everything looked nice except for one thing.

"Are you having a good time Cherie?"

Ariadne growled to herself in frustration.

"How did I get here?" she asked leaning her elbow on the table.

"I brought you here." he chuckled. "You love this place!"

"Why am I with you?"

"Because I asked you to be here." he said sipping his champagne.

Ariadne looked around the room to see people chatting casually. She wished the projections would attack him for her.

"Are you finished Mademoiselle?" the waiter asked.

"Yes I am." she said as she turned to face him. Her eyes stayed locked on him as he took the plate. It was those brown eyes and that slicked back hair that made her stare.

"Mmh hmm!" Jean coughed. "So you want to know why your here?"

"Please tell me." she said unenthusiastically.

"Well you met my family and they love you." Jean started. "Even Belle's taken a liking to you. Anyway, I have some gifts for you if you say yes to my question."

"What kind of things?"

"Look around." he waved his arm out. "This whole tower and all the scarves in the world will be yours if you say you'll marry me." Jean was so overly confident that he would get some serious bruises.

Ariadne's eyes tore up as he showed her the ring. With bravery, she shook her head and stood up.

"I can't." she sniffled. Mascara was coming down her cheeks as she backed away.

"Wait, what's wrong Cherie?"

"What's wrong?" she caved. "Everything is wrong!" All eyes were on her now including those of the waiter. "You say you love me, then you hit me, beat me, I end up moving out of my apartment to get away from you but you kidnap me and almost rape me! What the fuck makes you think I'd say yes? I hate you!" With that she pitched her fist into his eye and bolted it again beside his nose.

Her eyes looked to see the expression on the waiters face. It remained the same as he called in security. Ariadne turned around and headed toward the elevator. Going all the way down, she was in tears mixed with humiliation and glory.

He was gone, out of her life like a school day. As she left the tower, Ariadne ignored the valet men and walked to nowhere. She didn't care where she was going now.

Walking on the road, her heels stopped clunking when she heard a weak voice asking for her attention. It wasn't exactly a golden voice.

It was a homeless man, a grey beard coating his lips. His teeth were so rotted out that they looked like wood. The stench of rotten flesh hit her nose.

"Do you have a coin to spare, Beautiful?" he breathed. Ariadne immediately grew sympathy for him. He reminded her of the time when she ran away and lived on the streets for a week.

"I'm sure I have something…" she said, feeling around her hips for pockets. Her dress didn't have any and Ariadne realized she forgot her purse. "I don't think I have any money..." She took the pearl necklace she had on and handed it to him. "But you can sell that."

"I didn't ask for pearls!" he barked.

"Keep them." she insisted. "They're worth at least five hundred Euros."

As she stepped away, his bony arm clutched her ankle. Ariadne felt like a zombie was pulling her into it's grave.

"Since you have no money, you must pay me in a different way." a rotted smile grew upon his face.

"Just keep the pearls!" she said trying to pull out. "Let go!"

"Of a pretty piece of ass like you?" he spat.

A car stopped beside them. The driver left the vehicle and stood in front of her.

"You really shouldn't mess with women, especially when they're trying to help." he said. Ariadne hit him, the same way she did to Jean. The homeless man released her ankle to tend to his bloody nose.

"Get in." he ordered. "I'll take you home." She obeyed immediately as the stilettos were blistering her feet.

"I'm proud of you." he said. "That was very brave."

"Thanks." she said wiping a tear and looking at the black water. "I don't even wear mascara."

"You can stay single for a long time before trying again." he advised.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she blushed at the realization of the question being asked so suddenly. "It's not like that, I just want to know if you're dating anyone."

Arthur shook his head. "I don't have time to date."

"Might as well marry that briefcase then."

Arthur ignored her remark and sped up.

"And why are you a waiter?"

"Because that's my job." he said.

"I can't see you as a waiter." she told him. "You look more like a performer."

"I get told that often." he said. "And I did perform in many musicals since I was four but I gave it up."

"Really?" she laughed. "Then I was right."

"It's my turn to ask you a question. Why doi you stop to talk to that guy?"

"Because I was homeless once." she explained. "In the winter and I lived in Canada."

"How did you end up homeless?"

"I left my dad because he was hurting me. I had nowhere to run."

The car started to rattle dangerously. Ariadne found herself clinging Arthur's hand.

"It's ok." he said. The earthquake grew stronger and surrounding objects began to tumble.

A burst of light shot through her eyes. They opened to a ceiling.

Ariadne looked over at her arm. Her elbow was back in place along with her shoulder and knee. They were armored in white casts. Her arm was in a sling, her fingers the only skin visible.

Looking around the room, she found an array of Get Well cards. In a crystal vase were two dozen pink roses fully bloomed like a swans wingspan.

Where was Arthur? Did he just drop her off, say a few words, buy flowers then leave? Ariadne sighed and looked out the window. The Eiffel Tower lit to life as the sun departed.

Despite how nice the room was compared to other hospital rooms, she felt lonely. It was as if the doctors just fixed her and then left he behind. She couldn't get up with her leg plastered and the thought of two months in a wheelchair had no appeal to her.

She reached for the remote and flipped on the TV. _Gone With The Wind_ was on the channel she landed on, right at the kissing part. Ariadne sighed and changed the channel. _Titanic_ was next in line.

_"I'll never let you go Jack."_

That movie always made her cry. It was easy for her to change the network. It seemed like every channel was playing romance movies.

"Damn it..."

The door to the room opened and a familiar figure came in. Along with his three-piece suit a fedora sat on his head. Ariadne turned the TV off.

"I thought you left."

"How could I leave you?" he asked sitting beside her.

"I forgot for a second that it's part of your job." Arthur hid a sigh from her as he took off his hat. "How do I know that you're even real?"

"This should be plenty of proof for you." he said, showing her a red die.

"Sorry... You've just been showing up in a lot of dreams and they're not exactly unrealistic."

"That happens." he said. "Are you in any pain?"

"Just a little." she said. "Are those from you?" Ariadne looked at the roses.

"I thought pink would cheer you up and maybe light up the room a little." he said.

"I love that." she complemented. To her, they looked like candies made of pure sugar or decorative icing art on a wedding cake. "Thank you."

"Your welcome."

"I meant for saving me." she pointed out. The flowers were just a touch of joy.

Arthur nodded. "I'm just happy you called."

The door opened again quickly and a stressful Jules ran in. When she saw Ariadne, tears came to her eyes. Even her false eye cried.

"Oh my God, Sweetie..." her hands were over her mouth.

"Your eye..." Ariadne pointed out.

"That doesn't matter right now." Jules wiped the tears from her face. "Who's this?"

Ariadne paused as Arthur stood up.

"I'm Rodger Kinsley." he fibbed reaching out his arm.

"Jules Girard." she said calmly though she sounded like she was about to burst. "How do you know Ariadne?" she asked shaking his hand.

"We've been friends for a while." he said. "I came to visit."

Ariadne reached her normal arm out for her.

"You don't have to cry." she said. "I'll be ok in a few months."

"Thank God." she sighed with relief. "I was worried sick." Jules hadn't said sentences like that until Ariadne's mother died. After that, she knew Ariadne would still need guidance so she's acted like a motherly figure to her.

"You don't have to worry anymore." said Arthur. "The doctor said everything should heal and she'll walk again."

"The Press doesn't know about this, right?"

"The police won't say a thing." he told her. "The last thing Ariadne needs is to be put on the front page."

"God that would be awful." Jules gulped. "Could we have some time?"

"Certainly." Arthur stepped aside and walked out.

"Don't ask me about what happened." Ariadne interrupted Jules's thoughts after Arthur disappeared. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand." Jules put her hand up. "But I left class early the moment I heard. I might have left the cupcakes in the oven."

Ariadne giggled. "You would do that." For the first time that day, she was smiling.

"And I know how upsetting this all is. But you don't have to worry, because I have good news. Remember when I told you I was going to call in to that radio show to win cruise tickets?"

"You won?" Ariadne's eyes widened.

"Uh huh." Jules reached into her purse and took out two ship tickets. "First class Greek cruise."

"That's wonderful." Ariadne looked at the tickets. "Your so lucky, you know that right?"

"What makes you think I'm not taking you?"

Ariadne felt like she just fell from a plane. "Me?"

"If you want too." said Jules. "It's in three months so you'll be recovered by the time."

"And you want me to come?"

"Yes!" Jules exclaimed excitingly. "And get this; we get to spend a day with Jayne Alvers!"

Ariadne knew how much Jules loved Jayne Alvers. She had all her movies and songs on her iPod. To her, Jayne Alvers was the Bon Jovi of female rock stars and the Chuck Norris of women.

Ariadne herself didn't care much.

"That should be fun."

"And this time, I'm not letting any guy near you."

"I still have to take the final." Ariadne remembered. "I don't think I'll have much time to study."

"I'm sure Miles will give you an extension." Jules assured.

"I mean he seems nice and all- wait, did you meet him? I never introduced you."

"Well after class I snuck in and told him I was worried about you and to keep an eye on you."

"You did that?"

"And I told that son of a bitch that you wouldn't be his girlfriend for long."

"And what did he do?"

"Nothing." Jules laughed. "He was pawned."

"I wish that I hit him." Ariadne confessed. "That would have been nice."

"Ok, lets not think about it anymore." said Jules. "He's a thing of the past and the thing is, he made you stronger by screwing up so hard."

Ariadne didn't think of it like that. But the Ginger was right. She experienced some frightening events and after conquering them, she felt like Wonder Woman.

"I do feel different..." said Ariadne. "Now that you think of it like that, it's as if nothing can bring me down."

"You have to be like Jayne and never let anything stand in your way."

Ariadne nodded. "Then I can't wait to start over then."

She was released from the hospital a few days later. For weeks, she was ridden to a wheelchair. When people asked what happened, Ariadne told them she went skating without pads and fell on her side. After the casts came off, Ariadne spent her free time at a gym or jogging around campus.

With hard work and determination, Ariadne wheeled in the day of the test with confidence and aced it. The casts came off earlier than expected and just in time for the graduation ceremony.

As she walked down the aisle with her degree, she saw Jules in the audience applauding. A distance away, Arthur stood and she swore she saw him smile. Ariadne assumed she couldn't talk to him, so she just smiled back and walked off. To him, her eyes were saying "Thank you."


End file.
